Karnataka cabinet expansion on August 20
Bengaluru, Aug 17: Having run the government with a one man cabinet RPT a one man cabinet for 22 days,Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa finally got the go-ahead on Saturday from BJP national president Amit Shah to undertake the exercise on August 20.
"BJP legislative party meeting will be held on Tuesday at 10 AM at the conference hall, Vidhan Soudha. The cabinet expansion will take place on the same day post noon," the Chief Minister tweeted.
Before leaving for Delhi on Thursday, Yediyurappa had said he would hold talks with the party president Amit Shah and finalise the much awaited expansion of his cabinet.
BJP sources told PTI that there was a possibility that 13 ministers would take the oath Tuesday against the approved strength of 34 and that the rest of the positions would be filled later.
The delay was because the party was not able to finalise the names.
Earlier too, Yediyurappa had been to Delhi, but nothing could be ironed out.
The major challenge, party sources said, was the caste equation as there are 39 Lingayat MLAs, to which the chief minister also belongs.
Lingayats are the biggest support base for the BJP.
The Lingayats are followed by the Vokkaligas, the most prominent faces among whom are former R Ashok, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, C T Ravi and S R Vishwanath.
The party has also to give space to MLAs from the Dalit community, Scheduled Tribes, Brahmins and MLAs from other Backward Communities.
The 17 disqualified MLAs belonging to the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition government might also have to be accommodated in the government.
The Congress and the JD(S) had been flaying the BJP for the inordinate delay in cabinet expansion and accused Yediyurappa of running a one man government.
Yediyurappa was sworn as Chief Minister for a fourth time on July 26.
He alone took the oath succeeding H D Kumaraswamy three days after the Congress-JDS coalition government crumbled under the weight of a rebellion by a big chunk of its lawmakers, when it lost the motion of confidence in the state assembly.
On July 29, the BJP government in Karnataka won the confidence motion, ending the month-long political turbulence in the state.
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Four dead as motorbike falls off bridge in MP's Mandla
Mandla (MP) (PTI): Four men died after their motorcycle plunged off a dilapidated bridge in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district, police said on Sunday.
The accident occurred near Bhainswahi village at around 8 pm on Saturday, Bijadandi Police Station House Officer (SHO) Anita Kudape said.
The four men were travelling from Paudi to Bhainswahi village when their motorcycle hit a pothole on the bridge. The rider lost control, and the two-wheeler plunged below, she said.
All four sustained serious injuries and later died, the official said.
The deceased have been identified as Pramod Kumar Nareti (24), Santalal Uikey (23), Shivam Yadav (25) and Gangaram (22), the official said.
The police registered a case and were investigating the incident.
VIDEO | Mandla, Madhya Pradesh: PS Balre, SDOP, says, “Four youths died after a motorcycle fell off a culvert in Bijandi; police are working to identify the victims.”
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 22, 2026
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/OQx5YQifSv
