Bengaluru: Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar And former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, who jumped ship from the BJP to join the Congress just before the recent assembly elections and helped tilt the Lingayat vote bank in favor of the grand old party, notably missed out on a cabinet berth. .
After Shettar and Savadi left the BJP after being denied tickets, the saffron party opted for younger faces. Shettar is likely to be made the deputy chairman of the state planning committee.
While Savadi won the Athani seat, Shettar suffered his first defeat in the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency – a seat he had represented six times in the past. Other defectors who have been denied portfolios include KM Shivling GowdaSR Srinivas, HD Thammaiah, and KS Kiran Kumar. Among the defectors, Madhu Bangarappa is the only MLA who got a place in Siddaramaiah’s cabinet.
Of the 24 MLAs who took oath as ministers, six Lingayats have been included in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, while Shettar and Savadi were ignored. There was some speculation in political circles that one of them could be inducted into the cabinet to give a message to the Lingayats.
Political observers reported that the vote share of the Congress within the Lingayat community increased by two to three percentage points in these elections, though not necessarily because of Shettar and Savadi joining the party, but also due to a number of other factors.
Political commentator Vishwas Shetty said, “The Congress should have offered a cabinet berth to one of them keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. They missed an opportunity.”
However, a senior minister said that the high command had summoned both Shettar and Savadi to Delhi and taken them into confidence before announcing the names of the ministers. “Both have been assured of a ministry in the next cabinet reshuffle,” he said.
The Lingayats left the Congress in 1990 following the ouster of late Chief Minister Virendra Patil. Under the leadership of Patil, who belongs to the Lingayat community, the Congress won 178 seats in the 224-member House in 1989, the party’s biggest ever victory in the state. date. After Patil’s departure, the Lingayat vote bank drifted away from the Congress.
After Shettar and Savadi left the BJP after being denied tickets, the saffron party opted for younger faces. Shettar is likely to be made the deputy chairman of the state planning committee.
While Savadi won the Athani seat, Shettar suffered his first defeat in the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency – a seat he had represented six times in the past. Other defectors who have been denied portfolios include KM Shivling GowdaSR Srinivas, HD Thammaiah, and KS Kiran Kumar. Among the defectors, Madhu Bangarappa is the only MLA who got a place in Siddaramaiah’s cabinet.
Of the 24 MLAs who took oath as ministers, six Lingayats have been included in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, while Shettar and Savadi were ignored. There was some speculation in political circles that one of them could be inducted into the cabinet to give a message to the Lingayats.
Political observers reported that the vote share of the Congress within the Lingayat community increased by two to three percentage points in these elections, though not necessarily because of Shettar and Savadi joining the party, but also due to a number of other factors.
Political commentator Vishwas Shetty said, “The Congress should have offered a cabinet berth to one of them keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. They missed an opportunity.”
However, a senior minister said that the high command had summoned both Shettar and Savadi to Delhi and taken them into confidence before announcing the names of the ministers. “Both have been assured of a ministry in the next cabinet reshuffle,” he said.
The Lingayats left the Congress in 1990 following the ouster of late Chief Minister Virendra Patil. Under the leadership of Patil, who belongs to the Lingayat community, the Congress won 178 seats in the 224-member House in 1989, the party’s biggest ever victory in the state. date. After Patil’s departure, the Lingayat vote bank drifted away from the Congress.