BENGALURU: Despite on-and-off clamour, the expansion of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s Cabinet is unlikely to happen any time soon as the BJP national leadership is busy with the ensuing polls to five states in North India, especially Uttar Pradesh, which is crucial for the party. National leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, have already hit the campaign trail aggressively.
“There are four vacancies in the Cabinet. Naturally, there will be aspirants and there is nothing wrong with that. The top leadership will decide on when and how to go about it. I too have brought it to their attention. I will provide all the details when they call me for discussion,” Bommai said on Monday.
Any discussion on the issue is likely to take place only after March 10 when the election results of UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa Assemblies are declared. Besides, preparations for his maiden budget will keep the CM busy, which he will present some time in February.
“In March 2022, exactly a year ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka, either the expansion or even a reshuffle of the Cabinet, based on the performance of the ministers and their loyalty to the party, may take place,” said a party functionary.
Reacting to BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel’s statement that appointments to boards and corporations will happen next week, Bommai said it depends on the party’s decision. “There is no proposal before the CM on the issue of appointments to boards and corporations. The party leadership will examine the issue and submit a report. Action would be taken based on that,” the functionary said.
The government may try to placate some MLAs and staunch party loyalists by appointing them to boards and corporations by replacing about 25 incumbent chairpersons who have completed over one-and-half years in office. Already, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, MLCs Laxman Savadi and Nirmal Kumar Surana have held a first round of discussions to shortlist the names on Monday. The shortlisted names, after being discussed in the core committee, will be forwarded to the party president and finally to the CM for approval, the functionary told TNIE.