• Uneasy calm among seniors as High Command prefers freshers 
• Five Deputy CMs on cards to balance caste equations

New Delhi/ Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said in New Delhi this morning that Cabinet expansion can take place most likely on Wednesday (Aug. 4) if the list is finalised in a meeting with the BJP Central leadership later in the evening today. Basavaraj Bommai is the lone Cabinet member in the Government now. 

The CM, who reached the National Capital late last night, said the Cabinet exercise will be done in a balanced way keeping in mind the previous team. His meeting with BJP President J.P. Nadda is scheduled this evening.

“The list may get finalisedeither today or tomorrow. If it gets finalised tonight, the Cabinet expansion can take place on Wednesday,” Basavaraj Bommai told reporters before leaving for Parliament to meet Home Minister Amit Shah.

A comprehensive discussion will be held with the BJP Chief in the evening about the Cabinet formation, including whether it should be done in several stages or one go, he said.

Even balancing of regional and social representation will be kept in mind while deciding names, he added.

“Based on these factors, the numbers and names will be decided. Even how many Deputy CMs should be made will also be decided in the meeting,” Bommai said. The CM further said that in the current political situation, efforts will be made to take everyone together.

“We are hopeful that Cabinet making will be fruitful. Not only fruitful, but it should also serve the purpose of serving the people of the State,” he said. 

The CM also said some aspirants have met him and held discussions. “They also know not everyone can become Ministers,” he said. 

“We will do in a balanced way keeping in mind the previous Cabinet team,” the CM noted.

Seniors worried 

Meanwhile, uneasy calm prevails in the BJP Karnataka State unit leaders’ camp as they have got the news that the party is keen on replacing the elderly leaders with new faces. The CM and the High Command are said to have agreed upon giving a chance to six new faces in the Cabinet.

The senior BJP leaders, who enjoyed plum postings, are said to be disturbed after the news of being laid off in the new Cabinet reached them. An unconfirmed list of probables is already circulating in the social media and this has added to the woes of the seniors. 

The High Command wants to give opportunities to youngsters and reduce the average age of the Cabinet as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reshuffled his Cabinet recently. This has made several senior leaders of the party anxious about their political future as if they are  kept out of the Cabinet on the basis of seniority and age now, they will be denied a ticket to contest in the upcoming Assembly polls. 

Five Deputy CMs

It is said that Bommai has proposed the creation of five Deputy Chief Ministers to give representation to Scheduled Castes, Tribes, other backward communities, Lingayat and Vokkaliga castes. 

Bommai’s proposal has been agreed upon by the High Command as well as former CM B.S. Yediyurappa. However, RSS leaders are said to be hesitant on forming a Cabinet on caste lines and are also of the opinion that the creation of posts of Deputy Chief Ministers will create unnecessary rivalry among themselves.