Following the expansion of the one-man Cabinet of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, elected representatives of the ruling BJP and people of the Mysuru region are a disappointed lot, as not a single legislator from the region was made a minister.
As the BJP is looking to strengthen its base in the districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar, the region was expected to get a fair representation in the Cabinet.
The saffron party is a minor player in Mysuru region, with just five MLAs, out of a total of 29 Assembly constituencies. There are 18 JD(S) MLAs, five Congress MLAs and one BSP MLA.
Among five MLAs of the BJP in the region, only Krishnaraja legislator S A Ramdas is a senior. The others, L Nagendra of Chamaraja constituency, B Harshavardhan of Nanjangud, C S Niranjan Kumar of Gundlupet and Preetham J Gowda of Hassan are all first-time MLAs.
In the Mysuru region, the BJP is under pressure to strengthen its base. Even in Yediyurappa’s native district of Mandya, the party is yet to win any election.
On the basis of seniority, four-time MLA Ramdas was expected to be made a minister.
Among first-timers, Harshavardhan, son-in-law of Chamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad, was expected to be made minister as he would have helped in organising the party in both Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.
Also, either Nagendra or Preetham Gowda were expected to be made ministers to woo the Vokkaligas, a dominant community in the region.
According to sources, the BJP is committed to rewarding Vishwanath and Narayan Gowda with Cabinet berths as they were also responsible to topple the JD(S)-Congress coalition government. But, till then, the Mysuru region goes unrepresented.
Kodagu gets a raw deal
Kodagu, a strong base for the BJP, got a raw deal in the Cabinet expansion.
K G Bopaiah, a four-time MLA, was Deputy Speaker as well as Speaker. Appachu Ranjan, a five-time MLA, had served as a minister under Yediyurappa and Jagadish Shettar.
It remains to be seen how the leaders of the region will take the imposition of outsiders as District in-charge Ministers.