Amid widespread speculation about his departure, Karnataka’s Prime Minister BS Yediyurappa confirmed on Sunday that his fate would not become known until July 26, when his government completes two years.
When asked if he would continue as CM of Karnataka after Monday, BS Yediyurappa said, “We will see tomorrow. I have not yet received any information from the high command. I’ll get to know it by tonight or tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we will celebrate the two year anniversary (of the government of Karnataka elected to power in 2019).
“Tomorrow, after receiving information from the party’s high command, I will make my decision,” added the Karnataka Prime Minister.
JP Nadda supports BS Yediyurappa
At a time when there is speculation that the central leadership of the BJP Resignation of BS Yediyurappa demanding appa, Party chairman JP Nadda praised the Karnataka CM. Nadda made the remarks during a press conference in Goa on Sunday.
“Yediyurappa is doing a good job in Karnataka. The government is doing a good job,” said JP Nadda, without asking questions about the change in leadership in Karnataka.
In response to the development, BS Yediyurappa also sounded confident. “Nadda said that I did a good job. He’s our boss,” said the Prime Minister of Karnataka.
Oppositions are divided
Opposition parties appeared to be divided over recent developments in Karnataka politics. While Congress launched a devastating attack on the government of BS Yediyurappa, the JD (S) supported the prime minister.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee DK Shivakumar said the current BJP government in the state has abandoned the people of Karnataka. He demanded that the Legislative Assembly is dissolved and new elections are scheduled in the state.
“People of the state are struggling to save their lives due to floods and Covid, and the government has failed to save them,” said DK Shivakumar.
On the other hand, JD (S) MLC BM Farooq supported BS Yediyurappa on Sunday. Farooq said, “The high command has no moral right to remove BS Yediyurappa. He doesn’t listen to RSS. So he’s removed.”
Lingayat or non-Lingayat: who will be the next CM?
BM Farooq also said, “BS Yediyurappa is the reason the BJP is in power in the state. I don’t know how Lingayat would take this insult to BS Yediyurappa.”
Recently, dozens of Lingayat seers were seen visiting BS Yediyurappa to express their support for the powerful Lingayat leader of the BJP. The CM even had received flak from the central leadership of the BJP about attempts to mobilize his supporters and seek support from Lingayat seers.
ALSO READ: Why the BJP in Karnataka cannot do without Yediyurappa
The Lingayat vote forms the backbone of the BJP’s electoral holdings in Karnataka and it is widely believed that the RSS will endorse a community minister or MLA to replace BS Yediyurappa.
Sources told India Today that the BJP is looking for someone outside of Lingayat to become the next prime minister. By Sunday, three names had emerged as the front runners to replace BS Yediyurappa:
I) Basavaraj Bommai (Lingayat) – Minister of State for Interior, Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislature of Karnataka (Lingayat)
II) Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri (Brahmin) – Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka
III) Pralhad Joshi – Union Minister for Coal, Mining and Parliamentary Affairs
Lingayats stand firmly for BS Yediyurappa
Meanwhile, some of the Lingayat seers continued to show their support for BS Yediyurappa.
“It is everyone’s wish that he (BS Yediyurappa) carry on, but it is left to their (BJP) high command,” said Murugha mutt seer Sri Shivamurthy Sharanaru at a hastily held press conference in Karnataka’s Chitradurga on Saturday.
The BJP High Command will make an appropriate decision. We are not the decision makers. We have no message to the high command, “he added.
ALSO READ: As the pressure on BS Yediyurappa mounts, here are BJP’s front runners for the next Karnataka CM
एक टिप्पणी भेजें