BJP’s central leaders mum on expanding cabinet

Even as Karnataka BJP leaders are pressing for cabinet expansion at the earliest, confusion prevails over how it will materialise.

The party’s national general secretary and in-charge of Karnataka affairs, Dharmendra Pradhan, was speculated to be in Bangalore on Wednesday to facilitate the process of expanding the cabinet.

Chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda had on Monday declared that a representative from the party’s central leadership would arrive in the city on Tuesday to discuss the issue. However, the resumed budget session in Parliament in New Delhi apparently kept the party’s central leaders busy.

A senior state BJP leader said there was no confirmation yet about Pradhan’s visit, adding that a clear picture would emerge only by Wednesday morning. The leader added that the saffron party’s national leaders were busy devising strategies with NDA partners to corner the UPA government in the resumed budget session.

As the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee has recommended a CBI probe into the former chief minister’s alleged role in abetting illegal mining in the state, his loyalists have started pressing for cabinet expansion. They are eyeing not only the number of berths, but also important portfolios.

The chief minister, too, on his part, has been urging the party’s central leadership to allow him to expand his cabinet as he is handling 19 portfolios and there is vacancy for 11 berths.