PremiumBENGALURU : The national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced that Karnataka chief minister B.S.Yediyurappa will have three deputies in his government-a first for the state.
The three chief minister model aimed at limiting the powers given to Yediyurappa and expressing some distrust in him, identifying the second rung of leaders within the party and a clear indication that all decisions will be taken unilaterally by Delhi.
Govind.M.Karjola, Dr Ashwath Narayana and Laxman Savadi have been named as three deputy chief ministers in Yediyurappa's cabinet.
Ashwath Narayan is a first time minister from the Vokkaliga community and Savadi, a Lingayat, lost the 2019 polls. Their elevation not just a reward for their alleged role in shielding the rebel (now disqualified) legislators but also a statement on how party president Amit Shah will thrust his decisions despite the displeasure by other by discarding traditional considerations like seniority, influence or caste equations--factors that had decided earlier cabinet allocations.
"It is a statement of power that shows who is in control," Narendar Pani, political analyst and faculty at the National Institue of Advaced Studies (NIAS) said.
Karjola, one of the three members in the cabinet from communities classified scheduled caste, has been allocated Public Works Department and additional charge of social welfare. Ashwath Narayana has been allocated Higher Education,IT/BT science & technology while Savadi has been allocated Transport.
Known opponents of Yediyurappa that include K.S.Eshwarappa and C.T.Ravi have been allocated Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Tourism respectively. R.Ashok was given Revenue department, excluding Muzrai.
Former Karnataka chief minister Jagdish Shettar was allocated large & medium scale industries while B.Sreeramulu,a close side of illegal iron ore mining kingpin, G.Janardhana Reddy was allocated Health and family welfare (excluding medical education). Basavaraj Bommai will be the new home minister while H.Nagesh,the independent legislator has been given the Excise portfolio.
The BJP only named 17 cabinet members in its first list to accommodate the now disqualified legislators who resigned from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) coaltion government. The 17 legislator, who have since been disqualified, have approached Supreme Court to overturn the disqualification and allow them to contest the bypolls. The resignations had helped the BJP topple the H.D.Kumaraswamy led government but not all since then has gone Yediyurappa's way. From being made to wait to name his cou minister for almost a month to overriding his nominations, Shah has kept the Lingayat strongman on a tight leash.
Yediyurappa's influence has waned within the party since 2008 while the BJP under Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have tightened their grip over the outfit and rapidly centralising power since 2014 and more so since their resounding victory earlier this year.
Yediyurappa has been left to contain the dissent within his party after several leaders were left out of the cabinet that threatens to put the BJP in the same vulnerable position as the coalition.
Yediyurapp also has the responsibility to help the rebels win the bypolls to continue in power when the vacancies are filled up or risk leaving office without completing his term yet again.
Though a weakened opposition is advantageous to the BJP, the Congress and JD(S) are waiting for an opportunity to hit back at the BJP.
The party itself has been non-responsive to threats made by seniors like Umesh Katti, Arvind Limbavali and S.Angaraa among others who have expressed their displeasure after being left out of the cabinet. The opposition is confident that the Yediyurappa government will be plagued by the same problems faced by the coalition and may even force the state to head to the polls if the government collapses unde the weight of its problems.
All allocated portfolios
Dr.Ashwath Narayan:Dy CM, Higher Education,IT/BT, Science &Technology
Laxman Savadi, Dy CM and Transport
Govind. M.Karjola:Dy CM, Public Works Department, Social Welfare
Basavaraj Bommai: Home excluding intelligence
K.S.Eshwarappa: Rural Development and Panchyat Raj
R.Ashok: Revenue (excluding Muzrai)
Jagdish Shettar: Large & Medium industries excluding Sugar
B.Sreeramulu:Health and Family welfare excluding medical education
S.Suresh Kumar: Primary & secondary education and Sakala
V.Somanna:Housing
C.T.Ravi:Tourism,Kannada & Culture
Kota Srinivas Poojari: Muzrai, fisheries,ports & inland transport
J.C.Madhu Swamy : Law, Parliamentary affairs & legislation ,Minor irrigation
C.C.Patil: Mines & Geology
H.Nagesh: Excise
Prabhu Chauhan:Animal Husbandry
Shashikala Jolle: Women & child development, empowerment of differently abled and senior citizens.
