The arrival of Arun Singh, the new in-charge of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) affairs in the State, has stirred up the party, with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and his detractors are all set to make their case.
Mr. Yediyurappa is keen on getting a green signal for the much delayed Cabinet expansion/reshuffle. He is lobbying hard to get the names of his loyalists — defectors N. Nagaraju (MTB), Muniratna, R. Shankar, and C.P. Yogeeshwar, MLC — cleared for the expansion exercise. He is also keen on dropping a few Ministers, sources close to him said.
However, the two-day visit of Mr. Singh is expected to be stormy, as the old guards of the party are deeply unhappy over recent developments in the government and is expected to complain against alleged one-upmanship by the Chief Minister and lack of consultation on even politically sensitive administrative matters, sources said.
Several senior leaders are upset over the recent formation of caste-based development corporations and attempts to tinker the reservation matrix that have opened Pandora’s box. These leaders are also expected to raise the issue of recent appointments to boards and corporations and how the party was not taken into confidence.
The issues were reportedly discussed at the core committee meeting held on Friday night, sources said. However, the meeting was yet to conclude while going to print and no further details were available.
Meanwhile, the State executive meet is scheduled to be held in Belagavi on Saturday. Laws against cow slaughter and ‘love jihad’ will be the main issues to be discussed, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said.
He told journalists in Belagavi on Friday that the party would also discuss issues like the byelections to Basavakalyan and Maski Assembly seats, Belagavi Lok Sabha seat, and the gram panchayat polls.
