In July as the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka teetered, B.S. Yediyurappa and the BJP had declared that the then-ruling dispensation had been paralysed by squabbling for ministerial posts.
But on Tuesday, when Yediyurappa, as Karnataka chief minister, formed his cabinet with the swearing-in of 17 ministers, dissidence erupted in the BJP. At least three ministerial aspirants—G.H. Thippareddy, Goolihatti Shekhar and S. Angara—were open about their unhappiness and voiced their displeasure even as the new ministers were sworn in. According to sources, “dozens” of other BJP leaders were also unhappy.
According to the Hindustan Times, Thippareddy told mediapersons that “like-minded” BJP MLAs would meet in the coming days to decide their course of action, which includes reaching out to the party high command. In Chitradurga city, regarded as Thippareddy's base, his supporters held protests and even burnt tires, disrupting traffic.
Angara told mediapersons his constituents were unhappy he was left out of the cabinet.
More worryingly, several BJP leaders including Umesh Katti, Renukacharya and Balachandra Jarkiholi, did not attend the swearing-in, the Hindustan Times reported. Balachandra is the brother of Ramesh Jarkiholi, a Congress MLA who had resigned in July, leading to the fall of the H.D. Kumaraswamy government. The Jarkiholi family have exerted considerable influence on Karnataka politics in recent decades.
A matter of relief for Yediyurappa is the fact that he has kept 16 ministerial berths vacant to satisfy unhappy MLAs and balance caste and regional aspirations.
G.H. Thippareddy has won from the Gulbarga constituency five times since 1994. In 1994 and 1999, he won as an independent, while in 2004, he fought on a Congress ticket. Thippareddy fought on a BJP ticket in 2013 and 2018.
S. Angara has been representing the Sullia constituency since 1994 for the BJP. He has won the seat a total of six times. Before the expansion of the cabinet, the name of Angara had been speculated for a ministerial slot for a dalit face.
Goolihatti Shekhar had won as an independent from Hosadurga constituency in 2008 and was crucial in providing support for the Yediyurappa government then. Shekhar was minister of sports in Yediyurappa's government. However, Shekhar and four other independents withdrew support to Yediyurappa in 2010. When they were disqualified from the Assembly, Shekhar tore his shirt in a shocking spectacle. Shekhar lost the election in 2013 when he contested as an independent. He joined the BJP in 2018.
