Supporters of some Karnataka BJP leaders protest denial of cabinet berths

Emotionally charged protests broke out on Wednesday in various places in north Karnataka where BJP aspirants were hoping to make it to the new Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's cabinet.

Supporters of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa's bitterest critic, Aravind Bellad, Dalit leader from Haveri district, Neharu Olekar and Scheduled Tribe leader, Narasimha (Raju Gouda) Nayak of Surpur in Kalaburagi district erupted in protests.

Bellad's supporters in Hubballi shouted slogans demanding ministerial berth for their leader but did raise any slogans against any leader in the state, while Olekar's supporters carried out "Urulu Seve" (rolling over) in Haveri in protest, whereas Nayak's supporters held a sit-in protest in Bengaluru.

Among three leaders, Olekar, the MLA from Haveri Assembly constituency, openly criticised Bommai, who represents Shiggaon constituency in Haveri district.

"I will raise my concerns with Sangh Parivar leaders. I cannot share anything about my anger with you (media) people but surely tell everything to people who matter in the party and Sangh Parivar," he said.

He added that the party will have bear the brunt of such wrong decisions of accommodating two leaders (Bommai and B.C. Patil) from same community from Haveri at the expense of Dalits and backward classes.

"Both of these leaders (Bommai and Patil) belonged to politically dominant community... when will people like us get an chance," a BJP Dalit leader of Haveri shot back in response to a question by a local channel.

As soon as supporters of Surpur MLA gathered in Bengaluru, Nayak arrived to the spot and requested his supporters to wind up their protest. "Protests like this won't fetch any ministerial berth. I have all along treated BJP as akin to my mother, may be mother may have chosen to feed her own son bit late compared to her foster sons (defectors who joined BJP in 2019). Let us wind up this protest," he said.

Talking to media persons, Nayak known for his wry humour, said that his name always crops whenever talk of cabinet reshuffle or cabinet expansion comes to fore but he doesn't know what happens to his name as it fails to enter Raj Bahvan within the list.

"I don't know why this happens with me," he quipped.