Amit Shah to arrive in Bengaluru, to take final call on cabinet changes

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State BJP is witnessing heavy political activity as Union Home Minister Amit Shah is arriving here Monday late night.

The visit has assumed importance in the backdrop of Shah coming with a specific mission of finalising the decision on cabinet expansion or reshuffle. He would also hold talks regarding the various happenings in the State and strategise for the State Assembly elections in 2023.

Amit Shah is also expected to clear the air regarding the leadership change issue, which has come to the forefront after the statement by party National General Secretary B.L. Santhosh. He had stated that change of leadership was the strength of BJP. The experiment had yielded good results in Punjab and Gujarat, he added.

Former Chief Minister, senior BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa stated that he would be meeting Shah. "He is visiting Karnataka in the backdrop of the developments in the state as we have entered the election year," he said.

Yediyurappa further stated that Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would focus more on Karnataka now. They would give suggestions and directions towards winning 150 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections. "We will discuss with them," he said.

"It is the responsibility of the central leaders to decide on the tickets for the Assembly elections to the sitting MLA's," he said.

Yediyurappa maintained that there will be "no change of leadership in the state BJP" as per his knowledge. "Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is doing a good job," he said.

Shah is going to finalise the long pending issue of cabinet reshuffle or expansion. He is expected to take the crucial decision on the accommodation of B.Y. Vijayendra, son of Yediyurappa in the cabinet. He will also decide on the inclusion of Ramesh Jarkiholi, who had lost the cabinet berth after alleged sex-CD scandal came to the surface, sources said.

The party intends to introduce 10 new faces in the cabinet and there was a proposal to drop non-performing senior ministers, sources indicated. Amit Shah is also going to discuss the aggressive Hindutva approach by the ruling BJP in Karnataka and the present unrest-like situation in the state.

Meanwhile, the core committee meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday at the party headquarters in Malleshwaram in Bengaluru has been shifted to a private hotel. The change has been done after a security check by the SPG.

Amit Shah will arrive in Bengaluru on Monday late night. He will stay in a private star hotel on the Race Course Road. On Tuesday, he will be holding a meeting in a private hotel.

He will attend a luncheon hosted by Chief Minister Bommai at his residence and later engage in the core committee meeting. The visit of Amit Shah is expected to create ripples in the State politics, according to sources in the BJP.