Disagreement between the BJP Central leadership and the B S Yeddyurappa camp reached another level on Sunday with the party rejecting the latter's choice of Udupi MP Sadanand Gowda for the post of Karnataka Chief Minister.
The latest turn of events forced the party to defer the exercise of selecting new CM till August 3.
“The new leader of BJP legislature Party will be elected on 3rd August at 11 am”, party in-charge of Karnataka Affairs, Dharmendra Pradhan said.
Outgoing Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, who ended a three-day suspense on Sunday by tendering his resignation to Governor H R Bhardwaj, had narrowed down the choice of his successor to Gowda, a Vokkaliga leader.
Earlier, he had given a panel of three names, which included Higher Education Minister V S Acharya and Law & Justice Minister Suresh Kumar S.
However, the Central leadership did not agree to Gowda's candidature for the post.
BJP General Secretary and MP Ananth Kumar and his supporters are vehemently opposed to Gowda becoming the next chief minister.
Unconfirmed reports said the Central leadership is now working towards building a consensus for Kumar to be the next chief minister.
Kumar, a Brahmin leader, is a known Yeddyurappa baiter and has allegedly played a role in most the rebellions against the outgoing chief minister in the past. Kumar enjoys the support of the mining barons, the Reddy brothers, and this may be one reason for the Central leadership to support him.
The Reddys are also close to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, who has a good working relationship with Kumar.