BENGALURU: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda met former prime minister HD Deve Gowda at the latter’s residence here on Sunday, fuelling speculation that JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy could get a berth in the Narendra Modi cabinet.
The cabinet expansion is likely after the consecration of Ram temple at Ayodhya on January 22. Kumaraswamy could be offered the agriculture and farmer welfare portfolio which is vacant after Narendra Singh Tomar resigned to successfully contest the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election. Munda now handles the department as an additional charge, sources said.
This is to boost the morale of BJP’s alliance partner JDS in the Lok Sabha elections that could help the two parties win more seats in Karnataka, the sources added. “I am not worried about becoming a Union minister. We aim to defeat Congress and win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state,” Kumaraswamy told reporters after meeting Munda.
“What to do as a Union minister? I don’t know. I have got this news from the media. I have no desire to become a Union minister and there was no such discussion during the meeting with Munda,” he maintained. “What if the election code of conduct comes into effect in February,” he wondered.
On Gowda writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on giving the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Kadugolla community, Munda told the JDS patriarch that the PMO has given him the task of holding talks with Gowda and the tribal welfare ministry.
This could help the BJP-JDS alliance as the community could back them in the Lok Sabha elections in parts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru and Chitradurga, where the community has considerable population, political analysts said. Former Hiriyuru MLA Poornima Srinivas, who hails from the community, switched over to Congress from BJP recently. Kumaraswamy said Munda also discussed the plight of farmers due to drought in the state and invited him to visit New Delhi January 15 and 16.