Karnataka Cabinet Expansion Has A Date, 3 Weeks After BS Yediyurappa Oath

The cabinet expansion of the BJP government in Karnataka will take place on Tuesday afternoon, over three weeks after party leader BS Yediyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister. A meeting of the BJP legislature party will also be held that morning.

The decision was announced by the Chief Minister's Office on Saturday evening.

Mr Yediyurappa had visited Delhi earlier this month to get a list of cabinet members cleared by the BJP high command. However, party chief Amit Shah told him to head back to Karnataka instead and oversee flood relief at a time when the state had lost many lives to the raging monsoon.

Is this what BJP means by 'Minimum Government'? A cabinet without cabinet ministers?

Will @BSYBJP wake up & stop our state being mocked across the country?

Karnataka needs a government. If @BSYBJP can't form one, he should step down#YeddeliYediyurappa
https://t.co/ZyRXA325Iz

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) August 17, 2019

The delay in cabinet formation sparked criticism from the Congress and the Janata Dal Secular, who were running a coalition government in the state before they lost a trust vote last month. "Is this what the BJP means by 'minimum government'? A cabinet without cabinet ministers? Will @BSYBJP wake up and stop our state from being mocked across the country? Karnataka needs a government. If @BSYBJP can't form one, he should step down," the Congress tweeted on Saturday. 

This was preceded by several tweets from both parties that questioned the rationale behind the state having no cabinet in place at a time when Karnataka was facing severe flooding.

However, despite the decision to expand the cabinet, not all positions are expected to be filled on Tuesday. Several rebel MLAs of the Congress and Janata Dal Secular were disqualified by former Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar after they resigned from the assembly in order to bring down the coalition government. They have now appealed to the Supreme Court, and it is believed that some posts may be given to them as a reward in case they emerge victorious in court.