Chief Minister Basavaraj Bomma, after the final round of meetings with central BJP leaders on Cabinet expansion, dismissed the speculation that all the seniors would be kept out of his ministerial team.
“We need both experience and enthusiasm,” he told reporters on Tuesday, while hinting that his team would have both seniors as well as youngsters. He is learnt to have alerted senior leader K.S. Eshwarappa about his name being there on the list of legislators set to take oath as Ministers.
The Chief Minister said the team was being finalised keeping in mind the 2023 Assembly elections. “Also, the immediate need is to deliver good governance. The team is being chosen accordingly,” he said.
On Vijayendra
To a query on whether his predecessor B.S. Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra would be part of the Ministry, Mr. Bommai said the party high command would take a call on the issue by speaking to Mr. Yediyurappa, if need be.
The time taken for finalisation of names by the party high command had triggered speculation that efforts may be on to do something “drastic” on the Cabinet composition. Unlike the previous Cabinet led by B.S. Yediyurappa, the party high command is said to be keen that the Bommai Ministry should have a balance in terms of regional and community representation.
Though the compulsion to give ministerial representation to a sizeable chunk of legislators who came from other parties has made it difficult to ensure regional representation, the party’s central leaders are said to be concerned that ignoring it may affect the BJP’s prospects in the 2023 polls. The high command, which ensured a smooth transition of power in the State, is leaving nothing to chance on the formation of the new Ministry, observed a State leader.
There is curiosity about the creation of posts of Deputy Chief Minister. While the initial indication was that the party might create three or four posts to accommodate seniors, it is being said now that there is also the possibility of not having any, given the multiple contenders.
Meanwhile, lobbying by ministerial aspirants had continued till the very end, both in Delhi and Bengaluru. While over a dozen senior legislators were camping in Delhi, many made a beeline to the residence of Mr. Yediyurappa in Bengaluru. Supporters of some aspirants even resorted to staging protests in their constituencies to bring pressure.
