By IANS
Bangalore/New Delhi : The Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ministry in Karnataka only on Nov 21, two days after Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa seeks the trust vote in the assembly.
“All the 18 JD-S nominees (for the ministerial posts), including the deputy chief ministerial one, will take oath on Nov 21,” state JD-S president Merajuddin Patel told reporters after a meeting of party legislators in Bangalore.
The JD-S is organising a party rally soon after its nominees are sworn in.
Yeddyurappa, BJP’s first chief minister in the south, wanted to seek the trust vote on Nov 23, that is, after the JD-S joined his ministry. However, Governor Rameshwar Thakur told him Tuesday to seek the trust vote before Nov 20.
Yeddyurappa took over as chief minister Monday and four BJP ministers took oath of office along with him.
Former chief minister and JD-S legislature party leader H.D. Kumaraswamy is expected to become the deputy chief minister.
He, however, told reporters Wednesday that no decision was taken at the legislators’ meeting on who will be the party’s nominee for the second highest post.
“The names of all the party’s ministerial nominees, including for the deputy Chief Minister’s post, will be announced at an appropriate time after a meeting with JD-S president H.D. Deve Gowda,” Kumaraswamy said.
Kumaraswamy met Yeddyurappa Wednesday evening to register his protest at major decisions being taken by the new government even before seeking the trust vote.
Yeddyurappa and his BJP ministerial colleagues Tuesday decided to entrust a Hyderabad-based company with building airports in his home district of Shimoga and Gulbarga in north Karnataka.
Yeddyurappa has also made appointments to some key posts, angering Kumaraswamy and his party.
One of the JD-S conditions for supporting the Yeddyurappa-led government is that all major decisions on policy and transfer of officials will be taken with the consent of Kumaraswamy.
After meeting Kumaraswamy, Yeddyurappa said differences had been sorted out and the coalition government will run smoothly for the remaining 19 months of the assembly’s tenure.
Earlier in the day, he announced that his ministry would not take any major decisions till the trust vote.
In New Delhi, JD-S general secretary Kunwar Danish Ali said his party was waiting for the BJP to respond to its conditions and was unlikely to join the ministry before the Nov 19 trust vote.
“We are awaiting BJP president Rajnath Singh’s reply to our president H.D. Deve Gowda’s letter in which he had listed 12 conditions for supporting the Yeddyurappa government.”