Karnataka cabinet expansion to be held today: CM Basavaraj Bommai

Karnataka
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has confirmed the expansion of his cabinet will
take place on Wednesday afternoon. After his arrival from the national capital,
where he met the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command, Bommai said the new
ministers of his cabinet will be sworn-in by 2:15pm

“I have had
detailed discussions with high command regarding the cabinet, yesterday and the
day before. Most probably by 11 am you will get an official list (of new
Ministers) from the Raj Bhavan, you in the media are running some names, but
you will get an official list mostly by 11-11:30 am,” news agency PTI
quoted him as saying.

He later
said that he has held “detailed discussions…with leadership, one or two issues
are still pending, they have said they will inform by 10 am, they may inform
anytime.”

Also Read | Watch: How Basavaraj Bommai’s family welcomed the new Karnataka CM

He also
clarified that there was no confusion about who will be inducted as ministers
in his government, saying, “no confusions, consultation is the process, we are
a national party, that’s all”. He did not give any confirmation on the number
of deputy chief minister he will have, saying all those details will be released
with the official list.

Bommai took
oath as Karnataka Chief Minister on July 28 after being elected as the new leader
of the BJP legislature. After taking oath, he visited New Delhi twice. According
to PTI, the new chief minister was involved in discussions with the central
leadership in Delhi, while ministerial aspirants continued lobbying to secure a
berth in the cabinet.

The Cabinet
expansion is seen as Bommai’s first challenge in the role, as he will have to
maintain a delicate balance between various factions within the ruling BJP. Many
aspirants among the party’s ‘old guards’ and ‘youngsters’ are vying for
positions in the cabinet, in addition to a number of legislators who switched
from the JDS-Congress alliance in 2019.