Karnataka CM Yediyurappa announces seven new cabinet ministers, drops one

Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced names of seven legislators who will take oath as ministers later in the day.

The to-be inducted council of ministers comprises three MLCs -- CP Yogeshwara, MTB Nagaraj and R Shankar, and four MLAs -- Umesh Katti, Murugesh Nirani, Aravind Limbavali and S Angara.

While inducting legislators MTB Nagaraj and R Shankar who had switched sides and helped the BJP government come to power, the chief minister surprisingly, kept RR Nagar MLA who too was among the defectors, out of the cabinet.


The chief minister also indicated that excise minister H Nagesh will be dropped from the cabinet. Nagesh was among the rebel MLAs who had resigned from the JD(S)-congress coalition government to support the BJP. “I have discussed the issue with Nagesh. I will try to convince him (to step down),” Yediyurappa said when asked if Nagesh was being dropped.

The chief minister has kept one post vacant in his 34-member cabinet.

The selection of ministers caused heartburn not only among the turncoat legislators, but also in the BJP camp. H Vishwanath, one of the defectors to have joined the BJP fumed at Yediyurappa’s decision and said it was unfair on the part of the chief minister to not induct Munirathna into the cabinet and to drop H Nagesh from the ministry. “Yediyurappa should have kept the promise he made when he came to power. He formed the government because of our support,” Vishwanath said.

BJP MLA from Bommanahalli M Satish Reddy made his discontent public, as he asked the chief minister what were the criteria used during the cabinet expansion. “Can’t you and our national and state leaders recognise the loyal and young workers of the party?” he tweeted.