Karnataka cabinet: Bommai meets Nadda in Delhi

Said- expected to get the list by this evening

After the change of Chief Minister in Karnataka, speculation about cabinet expansion has intensified. In this regard, the new Chief Minister of the state Basavaraj Bommai met BJP President JP Nadda in the capital Delhi. After the meeting, he said that there was a detailed discussion with party president JP Nadda and the final list is expected by Tuesday evening. Union Minister Prahlad Joshi and Karnataka BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel were also present in the meeting.

After the meeting that lasted for about an hour, Bommai told reporters, “There was a detailed discussion with Nadda ji. We are expecting the final list to come out by tomorrow evening. He said a list of possible names was discussed and the BJP president would take a decision on it. The Chief Minister said that there would be one more discussion between the BJP central leadership after which the list would be finalised.

We told about the ground reality in the state, Bommai said. He also expressed some views. We would like to have a proactive and credible Council of Ministers. Earlier, the timing of this meeting was changed four times. The Chief Minister also met BJP General Secretary B L Santosh and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. However, Bommai could not meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Sources said that there was a round of discussion between Bommai and senior party leaders last night regarding the expansion of the Council of Ministers. On the other hand, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took a jibe at the BJP government, saying that the new Chief Minister is rushing to expand the new Council of Ministers instead of focusing on COVID-19.
Thousands of people died due to lack of hospitals, beds, ventilators and oxygen, Siddaramaiah told reporters at Uttara Kannada district headquarters Karwar. This should not be allowed to happen again but Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is rushing to expand the Council of Ministers instead of focusing on COVID-19.

Earlier today Bommai had said that the expansion would be done in a balanced manner keeping in mind the previous Council of Ministers. He had also said that it would also be discussed with Nadda whether the Council of Ministers should be expanded in a phased manner or done all at once. He had said that regional and social representation would also be taken care of while deciding the ministers.