BENGALURU: Keen on fulfilling his promise, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday received the Governor’s nod to nominate Adagur H Vishwanath to the Karnataka Legislative Council, along with four others, including Vokkaliga strongman CP Yogeshwar. Earlier in the day, Yediyurappa had met Governor Vajubhai Vala to get his assent for five candidates -- three he had himself handpicked, and two others chosen by the party and backed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, BJP’s ideological head.
BJP Mahila Morcha state president Bharat i Shetty, who lost out on emerging as a candidate for the Council polls, is the lone woman to be nominated. Shantarama Budna Siddi, a tribal leader from Yellapura and member of the RSS since his college days, and also first graduate from the Siddi community, and Dr Talwar Sabanna, a gold medallist in Economics from Kalaburagi and currently Professor of Economics at Rani Chennamma University of Belagavi, are the others to be nominated. Vishwanath, who quit as Janata Dal state president and was disqualified as an MLA, was among the 15 rebel MLAs from Congress- JDS alliance to join the BJP in 2019, effectively toppling the HD Kumaraswamy- led government.
Even when he suffered an electoral defeat in Hunsur in the December 2019 bypolls, Vishwanath maintained that Yediyurappa had promised to make him a cabinet minister and would stand by his promise. Yediyurappa finally ensured Vishwanath’s nomination to the Upper House. “All the credit goes to the party and our Chief Minister. I will accept any decision the party takes,” Yogeshwar told TNIE when asked if he hopes to be inducted into the cabinet. Sources in the party suggest that Vishwan a t h a n d Yogeshwar will be accommodated in the cabinet during a reshuffle expected in August.
Yogeshwar is said to be eyeing the heavyweight Energy portfolio, held by his nemesis DK Shivakumar during the Siddaramaiahled Congress government. Bharati Shetty’s nomination will take the strength of women MLCs in the House to three, alongside Tejaswini Gowda and Veena Achaiah. Much like the selection of candidates for the Council, Yediyurappa seems to have had his way this time too, on three of five candidates.