BENGALURU : Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's political adviser MB Maramkal, who served him for well over a year, has been dropped.
Maramkal, a former journalist, was first seen publicly with Yediyurappa during the controversial meeting between the chief minister and JDS MLA Naganna Kandakur's son Sharan Kandakur and Shivanagouda Naik in Yadgir.
Maramkal, who was constantly with Yediyurappa throughout his tenure, was discharged with a short three-line order, indicating that he had fallen out with the Chief Minister. It was public knowledge that certain members of Yediyurappa’s family resented his proximity to the Chief Minister and are suspected to be instrumental in his exit.
He is said to have advised Yediyurappa on putting together the present government, in spite of being short on numbers, using dissident MLAs from the Congress and JDS, and a grateful Yediyurappa had rewarded Maramkal last year by elevating him to the post of political adviser, a cabinet rank position. Maramkal is a career journalist who served with an English daily in a career spanning over three decades.