Picture : Twitter / ANI
The Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa rewarded the 10 defectors, who helped the BJP bring down the Congress-JDS coalition and come to power, with Cabinet berths. The one to be left out are the old-timers and loyalists of the saffron party.
The then disqualified Congress-JDS MLAs who had shifted loyalty to the BJP and won the December by-elections, were sworn-in at a simple ceremony at Raj Bhavan with the Governor Vajubhai Vala admistering oath of office and secrecy.
The ten are S T Somashekar (Yeshwantpur constituency), Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Anand Singh (Vijayanagar), K Sudhakar (Chickballapur), Byrathi Basavaraj (K R Puram), A Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), B C Patil (Hirekerur), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout), K C Narayana Gowda (K R Pet) and Shrimant Balasaheb Patil (Kagwad). The much-awaited expansion takes the strength of the Cabinet to 28, with six vacancies now.
