[1]New Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has been advised by the BJP top brass to carry all factions—the state unit has quite a few—with him which they party feels, is the best way to quell dissidence and ensure good governance in the ten months left of the government’s tenure.
Party national president Nitin Gadkari and general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Dharmendra Pradhan told Mr Shettar and his two deputies, K.S. Eshwarappa and R. Ashok that central leaders will not intervene in the affairs of the state unit which will have to be handled cleverly by local leaders themselves. “The image of the Karnataka BJP has been badly hit due to internal bickering. It’s your responsibility to give a image make-over to the party by providing clean and good governance. You should take BJP core committee members into confidence before taking any decision”, Mr Gadkari reportedly told the new CM and his colleagues.
The central leaders have assured the CM that a new BJP state president will be appointed soon to replace Mr K.S. Eshwarappa who has been made deputy CM in the Shettar cabinet. Sources said one of the favourites for the post is former CM D.V. Sadananda Gowda who has a substantial number of MLAs backing him. The source added that the BJP leadership is confident the current turmoil over ministerial berths and portfolio allocation will not affect the stability of the government. Reason: Any MLA who tries to pull down the government, will have a tough time facing the electorate when Karnataka goes to polls in 2013.
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/9shettar0jpgcropdisplayjpg-531