Karnataka: Debate on leadership change triggers anxiety in state cabinet

Cabinet colleagues and loyalists of CM Yediyurappa are now a worried lot, as they fear losing their ministerial position. A heated debate over leadership change in the state has also triggered an anxiety in the state cabinet. The Karnataka CM's visit to Delhi last week had led to the speculations of a change in leadership gain momentum.

Bengaluru (Karnataka): CM Yediyurappa's visit to Delhi last week had led to the speculations of a change in leadership gain momentum. This has also triggered an anxiety among CM's loyalists and cabinet colleagues, who are afraid of losing their ministerial position. The question of what will be our fate if Yediyurappa resigns as CM is now haunting DCMs and Cabinet ministers. If Yediyurappa resigns, the next chief minister will create a new cabinet and there is no answer as to who will get ministry position and who will not. On the other hand the BJP High Command has not spoken a word nor Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa himself did not give any information to his close associates.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has three deputy chief ministers in his cabinet. The three were appointed directly by the High Command following political calculation. Laxman Sawadi from Lingayat community, Ashwaththa Narayan from Okkaliga community and Govinda Karajola from Dalit community were appointed as the Deputy CMs. Some BJP ministers in the Yediyurappa cabinet are now worried about losing their posts, as there are chances of giving opportunity to new leaders. Recently, a viral audio clip of Nalin Kumar Kateel having claimed that senior minister KS Eshwarappa and Jagadish Shettar will be removed from the new cabinet had also created a flutter in the state cabinet.

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Around 12 MLAs who had got ministry post in Yediyurappa's cabinet after they switched to the BJP from the Congress and JDS, are now scared of losing their post. In other words, the whole issue has not only confused Yediyurappa but also the entire cabinet and has caused all the ministers to panic.

Meanwhile, reacting to these developments, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday cautioned the party leadership against removing BS Yediyurappa as the Karnataka Chief Minister. "It was Yeddiyurappa who first brought BJP to power in Karnataka. Some conspired to remove him since he would not be a 'chamcha'. Without him, the party cannot return to power in the State. Only upon his return to the BJP could the party win again. Why repeat the same mistake?," the Rajya Sabha member had tweeted.

Read:Has Karnataka CM Yediyurappa decided to resign on July 26?

Several seers of Lingayat Mutts have also started rallying behind the Karnataka Chief Minister amid speculation that the latter may be removed from his post. Talks of change of leadership. However, Yeddiyurappa has strongly dismissed the talks as baseless. It will be two years since the BJP government came into existence in the state on July 26 and Yediyurappa having sworn in as the Chief Minister.