Race for Yeddy’s heir apparent

Sources say factions in the BJP are pushing their own candidates for the chief ministerial post, even as the party prepares for mid-term polls

Race for Yeddy's heir apparent

Sources say factions in the BJP are pushing their own candidates for the chief ministerial post, even as the party prepares for mid-term polls

Saying it with flowers: Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa greeting BJP
Leader Rajnath Singh during the press conference at a city hotel yesterday.
Pic/Ramesh H S

While Singh appears to be favouring the idea, the Ananth Kumar camp is pushing party State President KS Eswarappa as the CM candidate. "Eswarappa is the senior-most leader in the party and he is a natural for the post," said a supporter in the party. "But it all depends on the verdict and status of the land scam cases next week." However, Singh denied the possibility of change in the leadership.

"There is no ambiguity on this. Yeddyurappa is doing a good job, and he will continue," he said in a press conference yesterday. "I can't react to speculations at this stage. Our priority is to prepare a pro-people budget and not to indulge in a rat race,"said Acharya.

"As a party president I can say there is no problem in the party," said Eswarappa. In the meantime, Jagadish Shettar, minister for rural development and panchayat raj, is also being considered for the post, but the numbers supporting him are not encouraging.

Meanwhile...
Even as disqualification of MLAs is threatening to displace BS Yeddyurappa, sources say that the CM is planning to use the state budget as a cover, so he hurriedly announced that he would be presenting it on February 24.

While judgment on the disqualifications is expected this month, the state cabinet decided to go for a 15-day budget session from the 24thu00a0 and Yeddyurappa, who also holds the finance portfolio, will present the budget in the assembly on the day.

"We hope the court verdict will be in favour of the disqualified legislators. In that case, Yeddyurappa will have to go and the government will remain," said a BJP leader from the detractor camp.u00a011 BJP MLAs and five independent legislators were disqualified last November, when they wrote to the Governor saying that they had withdrawn their support to the government, as they had lost confidence in the chief
minister.

While the high court has reserved its judgment on the independents' case and a judgment is expected next week, the Supreme Court is expected to close arguments on February 11 after hearing the BJP MLAs case. The verdict may come a couple of days after that. The Yeddyurappa camp appears to be jittery as they seem to have gotten hints on an unfavourable judgment, and is preparing for mid-term polls, in which case the budget will be nothing but an election manifesto.

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