Karnataka CM to form cabinet with 17 ministers on Tuesday

Nearly three weeks after being sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka for the fourth time, BS Yediyurappa is likely announce the formation of his cabinet on Tuesday after getting approval from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah. The BJP said that it called for a meeting of its legislative party on Tuesday morning, and that new ministers would be sworn in by afternoon.

Both Opposition parties in the state — the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) — have repeatedly targeted the state government for not having a cabinet, with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee asking is that what the BJP means by “minimum government”?

The delay in cabinet formation is believed to have happened as the BJP high command was busy piloting crucial bills in Parliament, and taking stock of the devastating floods across northern and coastal Karnataka.

However, with Yediyurappa finally getting the nod from the high command, about 15-17 ministers are expected to take oath in the first tranche; the state can have a maximum of 33 ministers apart from the CM. Yediyurappa has his task cut out: he has to maintain region and caste balance while forming the ministry. Unlike its predecessor, the Congress-JD(S) coalition, the BJP government gets bulk of its MLA’s from northern and coastal Karnataka. Also Lingayats – Yediyurappa’s kinsmen and the single largest caste group in the state at around 17% who have overwhelmingly stood by the saffron party —would expect to be rewarded. BJP functionaries who spoke on condition of anonymity indicated that there would be no deputy CM’s post.

Senior political analyst Mahadev Prasad said, “The cabinet expansion will have to be a careful exercise so as not to upset any group within the party, which is why they are likely to keep nearly half the slots empty. What will be interesting to watch is whether any of the rebel MLAs who resigned and helped topple the coalition government are likely to be rewarded immediately.