BENGALURU: Karnataka Tourism Minister C T Ravi became the first minister in the one-year-old B S Yediyurappa Cabinet to tender his resignation. Recently elevated as BJP national general secretary, Ravi, who heads the Tourism, Kannada and Culture ministries, submitted his resignation in keeping with the party’s ‘one-man-one-post’ policy.
Ravi, who has worked as deputy in-charge in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, is expected to be made in-charge general secretary of the same states and UTs. He had also worked as election joint in-charge for Tamil Nadu in the 2016 Assembly election, under now BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.
D Purandareswari, Lok Sabha MP from Visakhapatnam, is expected to be named in charge of Karnataka, replacing Muralidhar Rao. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, however, is undecided on his accepting his resignation.
Ravi to visit Delhi for natl gen secy meet
Sources close to Minister Ravi suggest that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has told Ravi that he will decide on it after the latter’s New Delhi visit. Ravi will visit the national capital on Monday for a meeting of all newly-appointed national general secretaries and stay on for a meeting on Tuesday of all newly-appointed office-bearers, both with party national president Jagat Prakash Nadda.
“With his resignation, Ravi has conveyed that his commitment primarily lies with the party. Whether it is accepted or rejected or taken up for consideration a month later makes little difference. Moreover, he has been asked by the CM to first finish his maiden New Delhi visit as a national organisational office-bearer,” said a source close to the minister. The chief minister is said to be reluctant to accept his resignation just yet, lest it creates more rumblings in the cabinet and the state unit of the BJP.