Following the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now launched a hunt for the new CM, with two central party observers, Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy, scheduled to meet MLAs on Tuesday, 27 July.
Reddy and Pradhan, both Union ministers, have reached Bengaluru and will attend the BJP legislature party meeting to be held around 7 pm, along with BJP's Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh.
Speaking to the media earlier, Reddy had said that the MLAs will decide who the next chief minister will be.
"I will go to Bengaluru, a meeting will be held with all MLAs, things will be decided there," Reddy had told the media.
The central BJP leadership has sprung into action after Yediyurappa's dramatic resignation on Monday on the occasion of his government completing two years of coming to power in the state.
Speaking to the media after tendering his resignation to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on Monday, Yediyurappa said that he was not pressured to step down and will help the party return to power in the 2023 Assembly elections.
Deputy CM Post for Yediyurappa's Son?
Amid reports of a plum post for Yediyurappa's younger son BY Vijayendra being one of the conditions of his resignation, his elder son BY Raghavendra on Tuesday said that the party's decision can never be foretold.
"The BJP’s decisions can never be foretold. For example, Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, Fadnavis in Maharashtra. Even Cabinet reshuffle was done based on several parameters. So it’s difficult to say," he had told the media, adding that 'it’s too early to say'.
Asked about induction in the Cabinet, Raghavendra said, "When Yediyurappa has no role in the Cabinet, what are you asking about his children? Yediyurappa has said that he will be supporting the party in its way ahead. And he has no role in electoral politics. Party will decide each role."
Raghavendra further said that Yediyurappa had resolved to resign from the post two months ago.
The Contenders
Several names are doing the rounds as frontrunners to succeed Yediyurappa.
BJP’s Hubli-Dharwad MLA Arvind Bellad, the state’s Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh Nirani, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP’s National General Secretaries CT Ravi and BL Santhosh, and state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai are some of the names being considered for the post.
Karnataka Minister Murugesh Nirani even flew to Delhi a day ahead of Yediyurappa's exit, reportedly to meet top BJP leaders, a visit that his close aides said was 'due to personal reasons'.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)