Now, it is the turn of State BJP President K S Eshwarappa in evincing keen interest on becoming chief minister or his deputy.
Eshwarappa, a known supporter of Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, is learnt to have spoken to the party central leaders on the importance of consolidating the backward classes vote bank. He is projected as one of the prominent Kuruba leaders in the State by his community people.
Eshwarappa even met former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa at Jindal Naturopathy Institute where the latter is undergoing treatment and held discussions for more than an hour on Monday.
However, Eshwarappa’s candidature is unlikely to receive any support from the Yeddyurappa camp, who want Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar, a Lingayat, as the new chief minister.
The camp is of the opinion that it would be beneficial to have a Lingayat chief minister in the run-up to the Assembly polls, as the party considers the community as its vote base.
The Yeddyurappa camp is likely to intensify its ‘oust Sadananda Gowda’ campaign in a day or two.
According to sources in the camp, a few ministers close to Yeddyurappa may tender their resignation to Gowda in a bid to exert pressure to convene a meeting of the BJP legislature party.
The camp, which had revived the ‘oust Gowda’ campaign on Monday last had taken a break as several leaders wanted to attend the wedding of party national president Nitin Gadkari’s son in Nagpur on June 24.
On his part, Gowda had sought to buy time by stating that he had to consult the party central leadership before convening the legislature party meeting.
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