BENGALURU: This year-end holiday season, newly-elected MLAs of the BJP, as well its old guard, are hoping to get cabinet berths as Christmas presents.
With Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who perhaps looks like Santa Claus now to aspirants, all set to prepare a list of names for his cabinet, everybody wants to be in his good books.
Senior leaders, cabinet ministers, including the deputy chief ministers, aspirants as well as defeated disqualified legislators — all are making a beeline to Dhavalagiri, Yediyurappa’s residence, to lobby for their future, turning it into a venue for hectic political activity.
On Tuesday, a host of BJP leaders met the chief minister. Senior leader and Belagavi strongman Umesh Katti — who had openly expressed disappointment over not being inducted as minister earlier — met Yediyurappa, intensifying his attempts to lobby for a berth.
Katti stepped up his case after Yediyurappa publicly announced that 11 newly-elected MLAs — three of whom are from Belagavi — will surely be made ministers.
Katti hopes that the problem of plenty doesn’t destroy his chances of making it to the cabinet.
Meanwhile, another Yediyurappa loyalist, MP Renukacharya visited him with the complaint that the Davanagere-Chitradurga region has no representation in the cabinet, and his name should be included.
MLAs aren’t just lobbying for themselves but also for other leaders. MLA Somashekhar Reddy, for example, met Yediyurappa to lobby for Health Minister B Sriramulu to be made DyCM.
With newly-elected Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi lobbying hard for a DyCM post, it has become a tussle between two Valmiki community leaders to gain recognition.
Jarkiholi, too, met the CM on Tuesday, and is said to have sought the water resources portfolio.
Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai — in case of a cabinet reshuffle — is also hoping to get water resources, pitting himself against Jarkiholi.
Newly elected MLAs Shrimant Patil and Narayana Gowda also called upon Yediyurappa to ensure that their names — as per Yediyurappa’s promise — feature on his list that will be taken to New Delhi.
The bypolls are barely over, but lobbying for tickets have already begun for the Legislative Council elections.
Former legislator Shivaraj Sajjanagar visited the CM to seek a ticket for South Graduates and Teachers’ constituency polls for the Council.