As rejig talks intensify, lobbying resumes for ministerial berths

BENGALURU: With heightened speculation of a cabinet expansion and a section of BJP functionaries expecting it to happen soon after Deepavali, hectic lobbying has started and aspirants are trying to keep in touch with central leadership.
Reports suggest AH Vishwanath and R Shankar, two Kuruba MLCs aspiring for ministerial berths, plan to meet national leaders.While Shankar is already camping in Delhi, Vishwanath is in Madhya Pradesh to offer special prayers at Mahakaleshwara temple and may reach the national capital on Monday.
Sources said chief minister BS Yediyurappa will take a call on the expansion soon after the results of Sira and RR Nagar assembly bypolls are announced on November 10. Talks about expansion increased after he accepted CT Ravi’s resignation and forwarded it to governor Vajubhai Vala on Friday. Ravi resigned after being appointed the party’s national general secretary. “The number of vacancies is seven and the CM will be compelled to accommodate a party loyalist to replace Ravi, apart from rewarding four defectors with berths. It remains to be seen whether he removes some ministers to accommodate new faces,” said a BJP functionary.