Ministerial aspirants continue lobbying as CM Yediyurappa plans Karnataka cabinet expansion
Bengaluru, Dec 31: With the much awaited expansion of the Karnataka cabinet slated some time in January, ministerial aspirants continued their lobbying by making a bee-line to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's residence here.
As Yediyurappa has already made it clear that 11 of the disqualified legislators who got re-elected on BJP ticket during the December 5 bypolls, will be made Ministers during the expansion, lobbying has intensified for the five remaining berths in the cabinet.
Currently there are 18 ministers including the Chief Minister in the cabinet that has a sanctioned strength is 34.
According to sources, among those who met the Chief Minister at his residence on Tuesday include former minister and senior legislator Umesh Katti, former minister R Shankar and defeated party candidate from Hoskote during the bypolls MTB Nagaraj.
Though there is a strong word within the party circles that Katti is most likely to be considered during the expansion, sources said, it needs to be seen how Yediyurappa will maintain a balance, as his addition would increase the number of Ministers from Belagavi district to four.
There are already two Ministers-Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi and Women and Child Development Minister Shashikala Jolle from Belagavi- in the cabinet while newly elected BJP MLA from Gokak Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been promised a ministerial berth, also hails from the district.
Kitti, an eight-time MLA was among the prominent senior BJP legislators who were miffed and sulking after failing to make it in the first round of cabinet expansion.
Shankar, who has been promised a Cabinet berth by Yediyurappa through MLC route, met the Chief Minister with an intention to ascertain his chances, sources said.
While giving a BJP ticket to Arun Kumar Guthur from Ranebennur and denying it to Shankar, a disqualified legislator, Yediyurappa had promised a Ministerial position by him making a MLC.
With Deputy Chief Minister Savadi too being considered for a MLC post to ensure his continuation in the ministry, it has caused worry to Shankar.
Savadi, who is currently not a member of the assembly or the council, can continue as a minister for six months till February.
Though there are speculations that some sitting BJP MLCs may be asked to step down to make way for those being considered for ministerial berths, there is no clarity on it so far, sources added.
MTB Nagaraj, one of the disqualified legislators, whose resignation paved way for the Yediyurappa government to come to power, is also aspiring for a ministerial berth, despite facing defeat in the assembly bypolls from Hoskote.
With other disqualified legislators, who have now got elected as BJP MLAs too pushing for Nagaraj to be made a minister as "promised" earlier, it needs to be seen what Yediyurappa decides.
If the Chief Minister decides to induct Nagaraj, he too will become a contender for the MLC post, the sources said.
There is only one council position vacant for now following Congress' Rizwan Arshad's election asMLA during the bypolls.
Several other BJP old guards like Arvind Limbavali, K G Bopaiah, Basangouda Patil Yatnal, Renukacharya among others are keenly aspiring for ministerial berths.
Though Yediyurappa has indicated that cabinet expansion may take place some time after Sankranti, party sources say it may be delayed slightly, and things will depend on the Chief Minister's meeting with the party high command in New Delhi, which is yet to take place.
Meanwhile, according to reports, newly-elected BJP legislators who have been promised cabinet berths are likely to meet the Chief Minister soon with a request to induct them into the cabinet before the Assembly session from February 17.
New legislators want to have a clarity on expansion from Yediyurappa, as he is expected to be out of country next month to attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, sources said.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
