New Karnataka cabinet: BJP boosts its Lingayat vote bank

HUBBALLI: Chief minister B S

Yediyurappa

, the face of the Lingayat community in the region, has not disappointed the community, the major vote bank for the BJP in North Karnataka. Of the eight Lingayat

ministers

, five are from the region.


Former CM Jagadish Shettar of Hubballi Central constituency, Basavaraj Bommai of Shiggaon, Shashikala

Jolle

from Nippani, C C Patil from Naragund and Lakshman Savadi, who lost the 2018 assembly election have been inducted in the first round of

cabinet expansion

. Shettar is likely to be Dharwad district minister.

Senior BJP leader Umesh Katti, Basavangouda Patil Yatnal, A S Patil Nadahalli, Balachandra

Jarkiholi

, Murugesh Nirani have failed to make it to the cabinet.

The party has inducted Govind Karjol who is its Dalit face in North Karnataka under SC quota and B Sriramulu from ST quota to placate the SC-ST vote bank in North Karnataka.

The induction of Laxman Savadi has come as a shock to many senior leaders. Savadi He is likely to be fielded in the byelection from Athani as Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli, who was disqualified by the speaker, is unlikely to contest.

Sources claimed that to accommodate Ramesh Jarkiholi, who played a significant role in toppling the Congress-JD (S) coalition government, BJP did not induct Balachandra Jarakiholi.

However, Umesh Katti’s exclusion is a setback. In the Lok Sabha election, his brother Ramesh Katti was denied a ticket as the party had given a ticket to Annasaheb Jolle, husband of Nippanni MLA Shashikala Jolle, who won. Katti’s supporters staged a protest in Hukkeri town.