BENGALURU: The three-day BJP ‘Chintan Baithak’ (brainstorming session), to be held in Bengaluru from Friday, is expected to take a final call on the reshuffle of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s cabinet apart from appointments to state boards and corporations.
The Baithak is crucial in the wake of the party’s poor performance in the recently held polls, including to the Council and some urban local bodies, in which its vote share saw a decline. Serious deliberations are expected be conducted on how to boost the party’s performance ahead of the forthcoming polls to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, zilla and taluk panchayats and also the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka. Leaders will be assigned with the task of going to the people and creating awareness about the programmes of the BJP governments at the Centre and the State, sources said.
“Under-performing ministers will be shown the door and resignations from chairpersons of boards and corporations will be in by the end of January, which means changes will be ushered in after Sankranti festival,” a BJP leader said, adding that the party top brass has already got a report on the track record of ministers and now it’s just about taking a decision on them, for which this Chintan Baithak will be a pretext.
BJP national president J P Nadda, who had missed out on the State Executive and core committee meeting in Hubballi on December 28 and 29 owing to the Covid restrictions, is likely to attend the Baithak on Saturday. If Nadda misses out, he will address the participants through video conference, party sources said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who will be in Bengaluru on an official visit, may also attend the Baithak either on Saturday or Sunday.
BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Arun Singh, and national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh are also expected to take part. It is to be seen if former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, who had skipped the Hubballi meet to attend his pre-scheduled appointments in Dubai, will attend the Baithak.
Kateel goes ahead with appointments
BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, who had made new appointments to the party’s organisation ahead of the Hubballi core committee meeting, made a similar move on Tuesday, to send out a clear message. He appointed Lakshmeesh as Tumakuru district BJP president and B K Manjunath as Madhugiri district chief (BJP organisation-district), carved out of Tumakuru. Both hail from the backward classes, and have kept a low profile. He also appointed Sanjay Kapatkar as Hubballi-Dharwad district president, Saiyad Salam as party’s state minority wing president and Mohammed Faruke as vice-president.