With Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde expected to submit his report on the illegal mining issue on Wednesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party core group held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss possible implications of the report, which has allegedly indicted state chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Meanwhile, senior leader Ananth Kumar met party chief Nitin Gadkari and parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani on Tuesday, giving rise to speculation that he is lobbying for the chief minister’s post in Karnataka.
Sources disclosed if charges against the Karnataka chief minister are serious in nature, he is likely to be summoned by the BJP top brass on Wednesday itself.
With the BJP keeping its options open on Mr Yeddyurappa’s fate till it goes through the report, lobbying has begun for his successor. However, sources disclosed if Mr Yeddyurappa is asked to quit, depending on the nature of charges against him in the report, the party will give him the first chance to nominate his successor.
It could be mentioned that Mr Gadkari had claimed that any decision on Mr Yeddyurappa’s fate will be taken only after going through the report.
The BJP chief had also said that Mr Yeddyurappa had assured him that he will abide by whatever decision he takes on Karnataka chief minister’s fate.
A section within the party’s Karnataka unit is putting pressure on the central leadership to take action against Mr Yeddyurappa. This issue was also raised during the NDA meeting held on Tuesday at Mr Advani’s residence.
Some of the names doing round in the party circle for Mr Yeddyurappa’s possible successor are Mr Ananth Kumar, state ministers Jagdish Shettar, Suresh Kumar and V.S. Acharya.
Sources also disclosed that while deliberating the Lokayukta report and Mr Yeddyurappa’s fate, the BJP top brass will also take into consideration its campaign against the UPA on the corruption issue.
A section within the party and the BJP’s alliance partners had told the BJP top brass that Mr Yeddyurappa’s continuance would dent its high-decibel anti-corruption campaign and give enough ammunition to the Opposition.