After playing a key role in cobbling up a post-poll alliance between Congress and its ally partner JD(S) in Karnataka, BSP supremo Mayawati on Tuesday managed to score another political point by convincing the two parties to get her lone MLA, N Mahesh, inducted into the cabinet. Mahesh, who will take oath on Wednesday, will become the first BSP MLA outside UP to become a minister.
The oath-taking ceremony, two weeks after Kumaraswamy took charge, is set to take place at 2:12 pm at the Governor’s residence, which is an ‘auspicious time’, a senior Congress leader said.
Confirming the development, Mayawati’s close aide and Rajya Sabha MP, Satish Chandra Mishra told a news agency that the breakthrough came after hectic parleys with the alliance partners. “We are happy to see our party MLA becoming a minister outside UP,” he said.
With intense lobbying by MLAs on both sides, the parties have decided to expand the Cabinet in two phases, said JD(S) national secretary general Kunwar Danish Ali. BSP legislator Mahesh is set to become the first member of that party outside Uttar Pradesh to become a minister in a state government. “As they were our pre-poll allies we have decided that they should be included in our Cabinet,” Ali said.
In a house of 224 seats, Karnataka can have a maximum 32 ministerial berth. The Congress which won 78 seats, kept a maximum number of ministerial berth while the JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy took the oath as Karnataka CM. In fact, Kumaraswamy oath-taking ceremony on May 23 saw coming together of all opposition parties in a show of unity against the BJP, which, despite winning the maximum number of 104 seats could not form the government.
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