Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jan 25: As soon as Yediyurappa cleared the air on ministry formation and said that winning MLAs would be made ministers, the once disqualified legislators have begun to make a pitch, demanding ministerial positions even for their defeated friends. This has come as a bolt from the blue for the chief minister. These MLAs have been insistent that defeated MLAs H Vishwanath, and MTB Nagaraj as well as R Shankar, who did not fight the election, also should be accommodated in the ministry.

The disgruntled MLAs point out that the BJP had given to its defeated candidate Laxman Savadi, the post of deputy chief minister. It is said that they also have been demanding to drop two deputy chief ministers and four ministers if their demand cannot be met. They have indicated that a delegation of all the 17 MLAs who crossed over to the BJP will meet the chief minister together on this issue. They will hold a meeting on Saturday January 25 before going to the chief minister.

Disqualified MLAs (file photo)

Chief minister B S Yediyurappa, immediately after returning from Davos, had said at the airport here that promises would be kept and all the waiting legislators would be made ministers. He also had said that he will not be going to New Delhi to meet the home minister on this issue.

Within the BJP, there has been talk of giving ministerial positions to about ten of these legislators and absorbing a few original members of the BJP to the ministry.

In the meantime, R Shankar, who has been eyeing the post of MLC vacated by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad, says that he deserves to be made a minister as BJP had won from his Ranebannur constituency although he did not fight from there. He points out that he cannot risk becoming a minister and then wait to be made MLC on account of legal issues involved. At the same time, he feels that Laxman Savadi can resign from his post as deputy chief minister and be appointed again after a gap of two days as this is perfectly legal.