Bengaluru : Cabinet berth pangs have forced Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to cancel his proposed visit to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum beginning from January 21.

He and two other Chief Ministers, Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and Amarinder Singh (Punjab), were a part of the Indian delegation to Davos to attend the WEF summit between January 21 and 24. The Chief Minister is said to be keen to quell potential dissidence and pacify those who could miss ministerial berths instead of staying away from the country leaving the situation to fester.

“Memories of Kumaraswamy losing power when he ignored dissidence and undertook a trip to the US are still fresh in Yediyurappa’s mind. So he is not taking any chances,’’ one of the Chief Minister’s confidants told Bangalore Mirror.

Yediyurappa is under pressure from all quarters – turncoat MLAs who have won the elections, senior and loyal MLAs besides the two defeated disqualified MLAs -for the available 17 ministerial slots as the size of the State Cabinet is pegged at 35. There are 18 in the Cabinet already, including the Chief Minister.

Memories of Kumaraswamy losing power when he ignored dissidence and went on a trip to the US are still fresh in Yediyurappa’s mind.

Besides pressure from the legislators, the Chief Minister has to maintain regional balance and caste equations to ensure that there is no dissent within the party.

There is also a demand for Deputy Chief Minister’s posts by B Sreeramulu and Ramesh Jarkiholi.

If the Chief Minister accommodates all turncoat MLAs then Bengaluru will have eight Ministers while Belagavi will get six (including seven-time MLA Umesh Katti who has been promised a cabinet berth) while districts like Davanagere and Kalaburagi go unrepresented. Similarly, there will be a huge representation for the Lingayat as well as Vokkaliga MLAs in the Cabinet that could lead to heartburn for other communities.

For the next few days, the Chief Minister is said to be working out a way to ensure regional balance and cast equations while striking a balance to keep loyal BJP legislators in a good humour.

Yediyurappa said that he will expand his ministry soon after the Sankranthi festival on January 15.

He is likely to visit Delhi to meet party national president , Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek clearance for the expansion.

The Chief Minister said that he is going to Delhi to meet party brass either on January 11 or 12. There are still doubts whether the CM can really expand the ministry on January 17.