Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Aug 19: At a time when decks seem to have been cleared for making Ramanath Rai representing Bantwal constituency the state home minister, the news making the rounds indicate that BJP is actively considering the prospects of elevating one of two MPs from the coast, Nalin Kumar Kateel who represents Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, or Shobha Karandlaje, who has been elected from Udupi-Chikkamgaluru constituency, to the post of union minister.

This is being thought as a strategy to effectively counter the move of the Congress to make Ramanath Rai from the coast the state home minister. This idea is said to have been mooted by BJP national president, Amit Shah, to offset the power imbalance caused by Rai's shift to home, which is one of the most important ministries.

Congress has of late been aggressive in tackling BJP, considering that assembly election is just a few months away. It has been trying to dilute the dominance of BJP in coastal districts of Karnataka by taking strong action against leaders who are involved with incidents of disturbance. Ramanath Rai, who is a bitter critic of Sangh Parivar, is being made home minister. BJP, which has been closely following these actions, is said to be preparing to foil the Congress plans of wresting the initiative in coastal Karnataka.

Sources said that during the recent discussions at Bengaluru with BJP functionaries, Amit Shah had spoken about the chances of Nalin being made a union minister. Nalin is said to have expressed his reluctance to accept the offer, saying that he already has organizational responsibilities in the party. But Shah said that everyone should be prepared to take up whatever responsibility the party entrusts to them.

Nalin got elected from Dakshina Kannada for second time in succession, and defeated former union minister, B Janardhan Poojary, both the times, with impressive margin. Apart from this performance, Nalin is considered to be a good organizer, and being in-charge of BJP affairs in Kerala, he had recently organized national executive of the party in Kerala where the party does not have a stable base, and earned appreciation from Amit Shah.

Although the name of Shobha, who is aggressive and more vocal against the Congress, is also being coined for being made a central minister, it is said that this proposal has some opposition at the state level. However, if Amit Shah decides to make her a minister, no one would be able to resist his decision, going by the current situation.

Last time, in spite of having a strong base, BJP had succeeded in annexing only two of 13 assembly seats of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. Congress is buoyant this time, having been in power and having won 10 seats from here last time. If a MP from the region is made a central minister, party analysts believe, it will help BJP to improve its tally.