Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Jan 19: Union home minster and national president of the BJP, Amit Shah, jettisoned the hopes of chief minister, B S Yediyurappa, and 17 legislators who crossed over to the BJP after being disqualified by the assembly speaker. Yediyurappa had said that the issue would be sorted out during Shah's visit and he would see that the legislators who have been waiting in the wings would soon join his cabinet.
Shah's response has come as a shocker to even the original BJP legislators who were hopeful of joining the ministry during the ministry expansion. Even on Saturday, there were rumours that Shah would clear the list of prospective legislators and the ministry expansion would happen on Sunday morning before Yediyurappa left on foreign tour.
As per reports, Yediyurappa raised the need for the ministry expansion to happen urgently as those who helped the BJP to form the ministry have been waiting for too long. Shah however, did not show interest in discussing the issue in detail, and asked the chief minister to come to Delhi after he returns from his foreign trip so that the matter can be decided leisurely.
For the MLAs from the Congress and the JD(S) who had changed loyalties based on the promise that they would be made ministers within 24 hours since they got elected, the wait is agonizing.They are now angry at the repeated postponement of cabinet expansion by the party high command which seems to have not taken the promise made by Yediyurappa to these legislators seriously. It is said that a number of these MLAs who used to visit Yediyurappa at his residence frequently, have considerably reduced the frequency of their visits.
Shah reportedly pointed out that BJP national working president, J P Nadda, will soon take over as national president of the party and therefore it would be prudent to discuss the issue with him. He reminded Yediyurappa that by the time he returns from the tour, Nadda would be busy with Delhi election, and that discussions can be held in a relaxed atmosphere after the election is over.
Although Shah did not give reasons for this postponement, it is being analyzed that there has been tremendous pressure from original BJP legislators who have got elected several times, for ministerial berths. It is said that the high command is not interested in including all the disqualified legislators in the ministry. It is also gathered that the party wants to expand the ministry and reorganize it at a single stroke by dropping a few senior ministers. Another reason being assigned is that the top leaders of the party are currently busy with Delhi assembly election. It is also true that the party needs to assuage the feelings of original BJP leaders who have not served as ministers so far in spite of having a long innings in the assembly.
Yediyrappa is disheartened by the way things are moving and also by the fact that promises made by him are not given enough importance. As per the current indications, ministry expansion can happen only after February 15. The chief minister is tired of convincing the legislators who came into the BJP recently that the promises made by him to them would be met shortly.