The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it was ready to accept the baton from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and lead the coalition government in Karnataka "anytime".
"We expect the power transfer to happen on October 3. But if it happens early, we are ready to accept it," the party's Karnataka unit president D V Sadananda Gowda told mediapersons in Bangalore.
Gowda's reaction comes in the wake of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy reportedly contemplating handing over power to the BJP earlier than October 3 as he was peeved at Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's statements on his elevation as chief minister "in the near future".
Yediyurappa, during the Independence Day celebrations, on Wednesday said, "I will unfurl the national flag in Bangalore next year."
In the Assembly on July 29, Yediyurappa, seated next to Kumaraswamy, declared, "I will sit in the chief minister's chair on October 3."
Sources close to Kumaraswamy said Yediyurappa's comments were unwarranted as Kumaraswamy had already declared that he would honour his promise on power transfer.