Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai arrived in the national capital on Friday and his sudden visit, the second in less than 10 days, has fueled speculation in the political circles, especially within the ruling BJP. Sources said that after reaching Delhi, the Chief Minister went directly to meet a Union Minister.
Though there was no mention of Bommai’s meeting with the BJP’s central leadership in his official tour schedule, some party sources said he was likely to meet them and hold discussions. While this has raised hopes among ministers for cabinet expansion, some believe that it could be to discuss the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha, the Legislative Council and local bodies.
Moreover, murmurs about a possible leadership change in the state have refused to die down after the recent developments in Tripura despite the party’s timing and clarified again that there is no question of Bommai’s exit. The Chief Minister left from Bengaluru for the national capital this afternoon and the schedule for his return to Bengaluru has been kept ‘open’.
According to the schedule of the tour released to the media, he is expected to meet the Union Ministers. Bommai, who was in New Delhi on May 10 and 11, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the second day and discussed the much-awaited expansion or reshuffle of his cabinet.
After the meeting, he had said that the BJP central leadership would convey its decision in this regard after discussions and said that “anything can happen anytime”. The chief minister is under pressure to expand his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of the assembly elections next year. Some of the candidates said that they were of the opinion that such an exercise would not be useful at this point of time, as they said, the tenure of the new entrants would be very short.
Amid rumors in BJP circles that a top-to-bottom change in the cabinet cannot be ruled out, the ministerial candidates said that they are hopeful of a decision regarding cabinet expansion or reshuffle soon, and there is talk of That many office-bearers can also pave the way for a fresh face. At present, five posts are vacant in the cabinet, which has 29 ministers including the chief minister, while the sanctioned strength is 34.
Some legislators are advocating for a Gujarat-like change of the Karnataka cabinet soon to make way for new faces. Shah had visited Bengaluru earlier this month amid pressure on a possible change in leadership and cabinet reshuffle or expansion.
Several top BJP leaders, including national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, had denied any move to replace Bommai. According to top BJP sources, Shah also asked Bommai to focus on development and election preparation and leave the rest to the party leadership.
Bommai took over as the chief minister in July last year, replacing senior leader Yediyurappa. However, following the recent sudden development by Manik Saha replacing Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, some party functionaries suggested changes in the state and pointed to Bommai’s recent statement that “anything can happen anytime”. is.” A party functionary in the state said, “Any such decision regarding leadership or cabinet exercise, only the high command will know, nobody here knows.”
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