The cabinet can accommodate 34 legislators. It will be a challenging task for the new chief minister to choose from 119 BJP MLAs. If he wants to promote younger members, he may have to drop some seniors. After the audio clip controversy involving state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel, there was speculation over the stints of Jagadish Shettar and KS Eshwarappa. Shettar, who was the industries minister in Yediyurappa’s cabinet, has offered to step aside, while Eshwarappa, who held the portfolio of rural development and panchayat raj, is keen on being retained, ideally with a promotion.
Pontiffs of more than 10 mutts of the Kuruba community met at Eshwarappa’s residence on Wednesday and warned that BJP would struggle to get community votes if he was not appointed as the deputy chief minister. Eshwarappa is one of the most prominent figures of the community, which is the third-largest voter group with a 9 per cent share after Vokkaligas (10 per cent) and Lingayats (13 per cent). The pontiffs have called a press conference on Thursday to express solidarity with him.