In the first sign of dissidence in Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party a day after change of guard, 12 disgruntled legislators who failed to get ministerial berths met under the leadership of former minister and mining magnate Karunakara Reddy in Bengaluru.
"The services of some senior legislators have been ignored and a few newcomers inducted into the ministry. This needs to be checked and I urge the central leadership to look into it," Reddy told the media after the meeting.
The BJP had not entertained the claim by Karunakara, brother of jailed mining baron G Janardhana Reddy who had aspired to return to the ministry. Instead, it gave representation to Bellary district, from where Reddy brothers hail, by inducting Anand Singh.
Jagadish Shettar was sworn in as chief minister at the head of a 34-member ministry on Thursday.
According to BJP sources, there has been lot of resentment against some of the legislators, especially B J Puttaswamy, a Yeddyurappa loyalist, being inducted into the ministry. They also claimed Shettar was opposed to induction of some legislators including Puttaswamy.
Sources said the disgruntled legislators were planning to meet on July 16 and leave for New Delhi later in the week to give a memorandum to the BJP top brass to set right things in the state.
Sagar MLA Belur Gopalakrishna also expressed resentment at the party overlooking deserving candidates' while forming the ministry. Goplakrishna, however, said he was not against the party.
Meanwhile, the BJP Core Committee met and discussed alloting portfolios to the inducted ministers, BJP sources said.
In the third leadership change in four years of BJP rule hit by intra-party feud, Shettar was sworn in as chief minister on Thursday.
In an exercise aimed at putting a lid on bitter factionalism that even threatened the very existence of the BJP's first-ever government in the south, state party unit chief K S Eshwarappa and R Ashok were made deputy chief ministers.
