Amidst speculations that the State government will have three Deputy Chief Ministers, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said he was unaware of any such development.
He was speaking to mediapersons in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon. He also said that portfolio allocation has been finalised and would be announced on Monday.
Meanwhile, reports suggested that the party high command was keen on having Deputy Chief Ministers in the Cabinet, though their number was unconfirmed. “The central leadership is clearly looking at people beyond Mr. Yediyurappa, who is in the fag end of his career, as it wants to groom more leaders,” a party strategist said.
However, sources close to Mr. Yediyurappa said he has vehemently opposed the creation of any Deputy Chief Minister’s post, as it would lead to alternative power centres in the Cabinet. “He is upset with a section of the central leadership, which seems to be creating hurdles for him at every step from Cabinet expansion to portfolio allocation, and now over creation of multiple Deputy Chief Minister’s posts,” one of his close associates said.
Govind Karjol from the Dalit community, K.S. Eshwarappa from the Kuruba community, and R. Ashok, a Vokkaliga, are lobbying hard, even as names of Laxman Savadi and C.N. Ashwath Narayan have sprung as a surprise. “The order of Ministers taking oath has already sent a clear message on the pecking order in the party — Mr. Ashwath Narayan and Mr. Savadi took oath as second and third only after Mr. Karjol and ahead of Mr. Eshwarappa, Jagadish Shettar, and Mr. Ashok, and that has upset many,” a strategist said.
Most of the State leaders, including Mr. Yediyurappa, were holed up in New Delhi to attend the funeral of Arun Jaitley, and parleys with the party high command were still on.
