News Analysis: Yediyurappa’s Ministry is a blend of seniors and fresh faces

25 days after forming government, Karnataka CM inducts 17 members into Ministry

Newly inducted Cabinet Ministers, along with Governor Vajubhai Vala and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, pose for a photograph after the swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru, Karnataka on August 20, 2019.

The first Ministerial expansion undertaken by Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa by

inducting 17 members on Tuesday reflected a blend of seniors and fresh faces alongside caste and community jugglery.

Of the 17 Ministers who were sworn-in, 13 are those who have been Ministers earlier while four others have been given a Ministerial opportunity for the first time, although they have been elected to the Assembly multiple times.

Senior leader from north Karnataka, Jagdish Shettar, surprised everyone as he too took oath to work as Minister on Tuesday, though he has served earlier as chief minister. This is the second such instance in Karnataka, after veteran leader and former Vice President of India B. D. Jatti had worked as finance minister in the Cabinet of S. Nijalingappa in 1962 after stepping down as chief minister.

Striking feature

The striking feature of the

Ministerial expansion that was taken up 25 days after Mr. Yediyurappa took oath as Chief Minister is that the party has rewarded its political support base in the Lingayat community by inducting seven members from it, in addition to Mr. Yediyurappa himself.

The Vokkaliga community, which is the second-most dominant community after the Lingayats, and the Scheduled Castes, have three Ministers each, while the Other Backward Classes have two Ministers.

The region-wise break-up shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has given prominence to Bengaluru city, where it has a strong presence. The party has accommodated four MLAs from the city in the Ministry.

The Ministerial expansion exercise, which had remained a closely guarded secret till late on Monday night, when a list of 17 names was forwarded to Governor Vajubai Vala, shows that the BJP high command has managed to bring about a balance between the party organisation and the CM’s followers in terms of Ministerial representation. This is showing up with Mr. Yediyurappa’s close aides — M. P. Renukacharya and K. G. Bopaiah — not being given Ministerial opportunities.

Roles rewarded

Those who aided the party in coming to power by playing a crucial role in wooing rebel MLAs have also been rewarded. This is evident with Malleshwaram MLA Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan getting a Ministerial opportunity for the first time, and senior leader Laxman Savadi making into the Ministry despite losing the Assembly elections from Athani. It is being said that Mr. Savadi would now be fielded as party candidate in the by-election from Athani, whose MLA Mahesh Kamatalli has been disqualified.

However, the BJP leadership appears to have not been able to bring about a balance in terms of regional representation as several districts and regions are yet to be represented in the Ministry. This is being attributed to the fact that the party is likely to earmark some of the Ministerial berths for disqualified MLAs from rival camps in these districts, soon after there is a legal clarity on their position.

Interestingly, most parts of the Old Mysuru have not been represented in the Ministry. This is being seen as dangling a carrot for some of the fence-sitting MLAs of the region from rival camps to woo them into the party fold.

The list

Those included in the Ministry are: former chief minister Jagadish Shettar; former deputy chief ministers K. S. Eshwarappa and R. Ashok; former ministers Govind Karjol, S. Suresh Kumar, V. Somanna, C. T. Ravi, B. Sriramulu, C. T. Ravi, Basavaraj Bommai, Kota Srinivas Poojary and C. C. Patil; and C. N. Ashwathnarayan, Laxman Savadi; Shakuntala Jolle, J. C. Madhuswamy, Prabhu Chavan and Independent MLA H. Nagesh.