A day after BS Yediyurappa resigned from the post of chief minister, Karnataka BJP MLAs and senior party leaders will meet tonight to elect a new chief minister. The BJP high command has sent Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy as central observers to the state. The meeting of BJP legislators may take place around 7 pm. BJP’s Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh will also participate in the meeting.
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, before leaving for Bengaluru, said that the next CM will be decided by the party MLAs during the meeting. While many names have been doing rounds including Murugesh Nirani, Arvind Bellad, Basavaraj Bommai, CN Ashwath Narayan, CT Ravi, Pralhad Joshi and BL Santhosh, the Karnataka BJP MLAs, even the outgoing state cabinet ministers are tight-lipped on the name of the next CM.
BJP MP and Yediyurappa’s son BS Raghvendra also refused to project any name saying it’s too early to comment. He said that the party takes decisions based on several parameters and it’s tough to say that in advance.
BS Yediyurappa resigned yesterday after weeks of speculation. July 26 also marked his two years in office. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot accepted his resignation and also dissolved the council of ministers headed by him. After his resignation, Yediyurappa said that he will keep working for the party and ensure that the BJP returns to power in the next assembly election.
With Yediyurappa’s resignation, the fate of 12 legislators who joined the BJP from the Congress and the JDS resulting in the fall of the previous government also hangs balance. Since the governor has dissolved the state cabinet, it will be interesting to see how the party leadership accommodates the turncoats.
The BJP has 117 legislators in the assembly including these 12 MLAs. The majority mark is 113.