The suspense over replacing Karnataka chief minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda continued on Saturday, with the BJP indicating that a final decision will be taken on Sunday. Earlier in the day, there were indications that the BJP core group had buckled under pressure from former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and decided to replace Mr Gowda with Jagadish Shettar, the state rural development minister.
However, the party decided to delay any announcement after Mr Gowda rushed to Delhi and met the central leadership. The BJP leadership also got wary after reports from Bengaluru that Mr Yeddyurappa was being questioned by the CBI.
Sources, however, revealed that the core committee of the BJP had decided to replace Mr Gowda with Mr Shettar. Senior leader Arun Jaitley said a decision “will be taken tomorrow, after Mr Gowda meets BJP president Nitin Gadkari”.
Mr Shettar is likely to take oath at 11.15 am on July 11 along with a 30-member Cabinet at one go instead of inducting ministers in phases as part of the ruling party’s strategy to gear up for next year’s Assembly elections.
The ruling party is likely to set a precedent by carving a post of deputy CM to accommodate either state unit president K.S. Eshwarappa or home minister R. Ashoka in order to retain its hold on voters belonging to other communities.
The party would also take a decision to offer a new post to the outgoing chief minister, who, incidentally, pleaded with leaders, including Mr L.K. Advani, Mr Arun Jaitley and Ms Sushma Swaraj, that he be allowed to complete his first year in office on August 4.
Sources in the party said though Mr Sadananda Gowda was sporting his trademark smile during his current trip to New Delhi, a sense of despair was palpable during his meetings with senior leaders.
Speaking in Delhi, Mr Gowda remarked, “Politics is like a game of kabaddi. In this game, each player is waiting to grab hold of another’s leg. Today, I have been declared out in this game. I am not disappointed about losing power. But I hope that with my resignation, all dissident activities will come to an end ahead of next year’s elections.”