MYSURU: With the buzz of a cabinet reshuffle after Sankranti doing the rounds in BJP circles and power corridors, many seniors and young legislators are eyeing a berth in the ministry, as the government moves into the slog overs.
Aspirants know that it’s now or never -- they can either make it to the government in its last rejig, or miss the bus, with elections due in early 2023. This has prompted many MLAs to knock on the doors of the party high command with a demand for representation to their region or weaker sections, and also accommodate new faces who can deliver the goods and strengthen the hands of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Veteran BJP MLA S A Ramdas, who could not make it to the ministry, has hit the road with vigour, hoping to invoke Prime Minister Modi and gain favour. He has gone hyper with ‘Modi ka Kaam’, tom-tomming the PM’s favourite programmes. In fact, he had also organised a week-long ‘Modi Yug Utsav’, showcasing Mudra Yojana, skill development, Swachh Bharat, Make in India, Jan Dhan Yojana, Ujjwal Yojana, Digital India and other programmes. Ramdas and his followers organised the expo and saw to it that each household was covered in the programmes launched by the Centre and state government.
This not only caught the eyeballs of top BJP leaders but was also appreciated at the BJP executive meeting held in Hubballi, saying it had enhanced the image of the government. He had also held a mega employment mela and skill development enrolment programme in Mysuru to help youngsters register and undergo five years of training to fit into the job market.
Cooperation Minister S T Somashekar said many legislators, including himself, had attempted to emulate Ramdas’ initiatives in their constituencies. N Mahesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party MLA who defected to the BJP, stole the limelight after he defended the government on the controversial Anti-Conversion Bill when it was tabled in the winter session in Belagavi. Mahesh is hoping that the BJP high command will reshuffle the ministry and stick to social engineering in the election year -- he is confident he will make it as he is from the SC Right community, which is dominant in Old Mysuru but has no representation.
Though the SC Right has two MPs and MLAs, the lack of representation has come under criticism from the community and opposition. The BJP, keen to win the Dalit vote and contain the influence of the Congress in Old Mysuru, wanted them to be accommodated in the reshuffle.
The aspirants are also hoping that the party’s showing in the Council elections will prompt the high command to take tough decisions as the BJP candidate was restricted to 50 votes, and forfeited his deposit in Mandya. There are also allegations of last-minute understanding with rival party candidates.
Though Mysuru District Minister S T Somashekar managed to take up development work and take the party with him, BJP candidate R Raghu losing the polls by a whisker came under criticism. He maintained that overconfidence cost the party and felt it was a warning bell.