The 17 newly inducted Ministers in the B.S. Yediyurappa Cabinet may be assigned portfolios on Sunday or Monday. The Chief Minister was expected to allocate portfolios on Saturday, but it was postponed following the death of BJP veteran leader and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, said party sources. Mr. Yediyurappa will participate in the funeral of Mr. Jaitley on Sunday and is expected to allocate portfolios only after that, sources in the Chief Minister’s office said.
Visit to Delhi
The Chief Minister visited the national capital on Thursday for consulting the central leadership on allocation of portfolios to the newly sworn-in Ministers. Saturday saw some of the MLAs visiting Mr. Yediyurappa’s residence, including the disgruntled Umesh Katti to lobby for ministership. Meanwhile, several of the Ministers have been lobbying hard to get plum portfolios.
Demands
H. Nagesh, Independent MLA, who was sworn in as Minister twice in less than two months, has been demanding the Energy portfolio citing his past experience in the Energy Department. Allocation of portfolios has become a tricky issue as some of the 17 “rebels” had met the Chief Minister in the last few days and expressed concern over portfolio allocation. The “rebels” (disqualified from Congress and JD(S)), who played an instrumental role in the formation of the BJP government, have been demanding certain high-profile portfolios, sources said.