Bangalore TWO of the six BJP Rajya Sabha MPs from Karnataka as well as 10 of its 17 newly elected Lok Sabha members are said to be vying for a ministerial position in the Narendra Modi cabinet. The hopefuls include Venkaiah Naidu and educationist Prabhakar Kore (Rajya Sabha) as well as Ananth Kumar, Prahlad Joshi, D V Sadananda Gowda, Ananth Kumar Hegde, Ramesh Jigajinagi, G M Siddeshwar, and first-time parliamentarians B S Yeddyurappa and his close aide Shobha Karandlaje. The Karnataka BJP expects around two ministerial positions — one of Cabinet rank and a minister of state. However, some noises have been made in the state BJP regarding seeking six positions on the lines of what UPA II gave the state. While Yeddyurappa would have been a shoo-in, Modi is expected to consult the CBI director on the gravity of the corruption cases against him before making up his mind. MUMBAI WITH senior leaders Nitin Gadkari and Gopinath Munde being talked about as possible ministers in the Modi government, Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis has emerged as a possibility to lead the party campaign in the state Assembly elections. While Gadkari has made it clear that he is now more or less a Delhi politician, Munde may find it harder giving up his Maharashtra control.
