Are Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda's days numbered? Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who is currently camping in New Delhi, has raised his pitch to change Gowda, a move that is being strongly opposed by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani.
There was a lot of political activity in the national capital with Yeddyurappa insisting that the CM must be changed. It is said that the influential Lingyat leader has managed to convince many in the top leadership regarding this change while stating that the CM's proximity to opposition Deve Gowda clan is annoying and would cause more embarrassment to the ruling BJP.
However, Yeddyurappa has been told not to get his hopes too high and that it would not be possible to make him the CM right now. Although cleared by the Karnataka high court in the illegal mining scam case, he still has a couple of cases pending against him.
If he is made the CM and those cases re-surface it would be another embarrassment for the BJP. Yeddyurappa, is however not opposed to the idea of placing his candidate for the post of CM.
He has been rooting for former rival and Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar.
Shettar in fact lost to Gowda when the BJP MLAs elected the latter nearly a year back.
However, now they have been trying to pacify Advani for the change. Indications are that they may go ahead even if Advani does not agree.
The Yeddyurappa camp has decided that a vote for the new CM would be held on March 19 and the name would be announced in Delhi the same day. The legislature session in Karnataka, they say, would commence under the new leadership on March 21.
In Bengaluru, however, Gowda has remained unfazed despite these important developments. He told the media on Thursday that he would continue in office and the state budget would be presented under his leadership.
