I'll appeal to BSY to campaign: DVS

Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Monday said he would appeal to his predecessor B S Yeddyurappa to campaign for the BJP candidate in the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha bypoll.

“If required I will personally meet Yeddyurappa and request him to spend a few days campaigning for our candidate. There is no question of me getting embarrassed due to his presence,” Gowda told reporters in Bangalore.

Gowda’s statement comes a day after Yeddyurappa had remarked sarcastically that he would not campaign in the bypoll as it would embarrass Gowda and party State President K S Eshwarappa.

Sources said Yeddyurappa has a good support base among the Lingayat voters in Chikmagalur and Tarikere Assembly segments of the Lok Sabha constituency. These votes are crucial for the BJP candidate and Yeddyurappa is trying to give Gowda the jitters by staying away from the campaign, they said.

Gowda said Goa’s newly sworn-in chief minister Manohar Parrikar will campaign in parts of Udupi later this week.

Yeddyurappa is learnt to have convened a meeting of his supporters on March 18 in Bangalore.

There was not much activity in the Yeddyurappa camp on Monday with the BJP leader staying indoors at his Race Course Road residence here.

He maintained a low profile as he was disappointed with the poor turnout of MLAs at the Hubli function. His camp was expecting not less than 70 to 80 MLAs, while less than 40 MLAs were seen. Had the numbers been more, then the camp would have openly questioned the leadership of Gowda.

BJP General Secretary Dharmendra Pradhan’s discussion with Yeddyurappa in Bangalore on Saturday evening seems to have worked. At his birthday bash in Hubli on Sunday, Yeddyurappa announced he would remain with the party and venture on a statewide tour to enlighten people about the welfare programmes he had launched as chief minister.

Pradhan, who is also party in-charge of state affairs, is learnt to have conveyed to Yeddyurappa that assessment of the legal and political impact of the High Court verdict giving him a clean chit in the illegal mining case would require time and had requested the BJP leader to be patient.