JOIN USA day after Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda became the member of the Legislative Council, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa dropped a bomb saying that a party should have one captain to lead it, and he has no faith in collective leadership.
His statement is diametrically opposite to what State party president K S Eshwarappa has been saying.
Till recently, Yeddyurappa had been pressurising the party central leadership to give him either the state party president post or the chief ministership. The central leaders are not inclined to meet either of his demand.
Yeddyurappa later changed his mind and openly said that he was not keen on becoming the party president. In the 2008 Assembly elections, Sadananda Gowda was the state party president, while Yeddyurappa was projected as the chief ministerial candidate.
Realising that Yeddyurappa may cause more problems for the party for being sidelined, Eshwarappa has been saying the party will face the next Assembly elections collectively.
No individual will be projected as the leader, he has said.
In Davangere while interacting with reporters on Friday, Yeddyurappa dropped sufficient hints that he would like to be at the helm of affairs at the party and the government.
He said, “I do not believe in collective leadership. A house should have one yajamana (head). Similarly, a party should be led by one leader.”
Yeddyurappa said that if the BJP faces the next elections under the leadership of one leader, then it would secure more seats than it did in 2008.
To a specific question by a reporter whether the party will go to polls under his leadership, he did not offer a direct reply. He said it was left to the party high command. But he reiterated that he was not aspiring to become the party president.