BENGALURU: Amid speculation about leadership change in Karnataka, the State Government on Monday appointed Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa loyalist Kapu Siddalingaswamy as chairman of the Karnataka Tourism Board, replacing actor-turned-politician Shruthi, who has been made head of the Karnataka State Temperance Board.
The government also appointed Bengaluru South MLA M Krishnappa as chairman of the newly constituted Vokkaliga Development Board. While Krishnappa is a relative of Revenue Minister R Ashoka, considered a Yediyurappa loyalist, Kapu is a close associate of the CM. Kapu had quit the BJP and joined Yediyurappa when the latter quit the saffron party to start the Karnataka Janata Paksha in 2013.
The appointment of a Yediyurappa loyalist as Tourism Board chairman assumes significance as Tourism Minister CP Yogeeshwara has been vocal in seeking the ouster of the 78-year-old CM. BJP sources said that such a move was expected of Yediyurappa.
“Whenever Yediyurappa is in distress, he sends a clear message to the people who oppose him. By making his man chairman of the Tourism Board, Yediyurappa has sent a strong message to Yogeeshwara,” a source said. Kapu’s appointment is also a message to Yediyurappa loyalists, that the CM will always stand by those who support him. Shruthi is considered to be close to Yogeeshwara, and her removal is Yediyurappa’s message to his dissenters, the source said.
Sources also said that at the previous BJP core committee meeting, it was decided to sack chairpersons of boards and corporations if their work was not up to the mark. “It was decided to appoint party workers who perform well. The list was prepared by Yediyurappa and BJP state chief Nalin Kumar Kateel. But, Yediyurappa made an unilateral decision even before the list was placed before the committee,” sources said.
Yediyurappa had announced the setting up of a Vokkaliga Development Board in his budget this year, and set aside Rs 500 crore for the same. The government issued an order constituting the board on Saturday— the day Yediyurappa returned from his two-day hectic Delhi trip, which has resulted in a lot of suspense over his continuation as Chief Minister.