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2nd-time lucky Shettar to take oath
As the dust settles on the strife for leadership in Karnataka, the focus has shifted to Ministry formation. The relative calm after the political storm on Monday was broken by hectic lobbying with multiple aspirants seeking to meet Jagadish Shettar, Chief Minister-designate.
Dharmendra Pradhan, in-charge of BJP Affairs in Karnataka, held consultations with outgoing Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda and State unit president KS Eshwarappa even as several Ministers and MLAs met him at the BJP office Jagannatha Bhavana at Malleshwaram.
Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh as central observers are expected to oversee the legislature party meeting on Tuesday and discuss Ministry-formation issues. It is expected that Jagadish Shettar will be formally elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party and would stake claim for the CM’s post. Sadananda Gowda will then be submitting his resignation to the Governor.
A BJP source told The Pioneer that the party is also weighing the option of having a Deputy Chief Minister, a post for which there is a triangular fight between Eshwarappa, Transport and Home Minister R Ashoka and Dalit leader Govind M Karjol.
In an irony of sorts, the official announcement by the BJP high command on Sunday making Karnataka Rural Development Minister Shettar the next Chief Minister replacing DV Sadananda Gowda has made him second time lucky. The 56-year-old Shettar, whose choice as his successor was opposed last year by BJP strongman BS Yeddyurappa, has now got his backing.
Gowda was handpicked by Yeddyurappa who was bent on defeating Shettar as he thought was senior party leader HN Ananthakumar’s protégé.
Gowda reportedly not only defied the diktat of Yeddyurappa but also started taking control over party affairs that cost him his seat. But it was Yeddyurappa’s rebellion the second time around that proved lucky for Shettar.
Shettar told The Pioneer that he was happy about the party’s decision. He expressed confidence that he will be able to take everyone along. Shettar, who is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, had a busy schedule as Ministers, MLAs and aspirants thronged his residence. After the official announcement, Shettar went straight to Yeddyurappa’s residence and held closed door discussions.
The soft-spoken Shettar, currently Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, assumes charge at a time when the party is deeply divided. Yeddyurappa came in for flak last year by a section of the Lingayat community for backing Gowda, who belongs to the Vokkaliga caste.
Shettar who hails from RSS and ABVP background was made state BJP secretary in 1996, and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly in 1999. In 2005, he was appointed BJP State president. He served as Revenue Minister in the BJP-JDS coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy in 2006. In 2008 after BJP came to power, he was made Assembly Speaker, much against his wishes as Yeddyurappa allegedly chose to sideline him. In 2009, he made a strong pitch to quit that post, and was made Rural Development Minister.
As the dust settles on the strife for leadership in Karnataka, the focus has shifted to Ministry formation. The relative calm after the political storm on Monday was broken by hectic lobbying with multiple aspirants seeking to meet Jagadish Shettar, Chief Minister-designate.
Dharmendra Pradhan, in-charge of BJP Affairs in Karnataka, held consultations with outgoing Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda and State unit president KS Eshwarappa even as several Ministers and MLAs met him at the BJP office Jagannatha Bhavana at Malleshwaram.
Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh as central observers are expected to oversee the legislature party meeting on Tuesday and discuss Ministry-formation issues. It is expected that Jagadish Shettar will be formally elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party and would stake claim for the CM’s post. Sadananda Gowda will then be submitting his resignation to the Governor.
A BJP source told The Pioneer that the party is also weighing the option of having a Deputy Chief Minister, a post for which there is a triangular fight between Eshwarappa, Transport and Home Minister R Ashoka and Dalit leader Govind M Karjol.
In an irony of sorts, the official announcement by the BJP high command on Sunday making Karnataka Rural Development Minister Shettar the next Chief Minister replacing DV Sadananda Gowda has made him second time lucky. The 56-year-old Shettar, whose choice as his successor was opposed last year by BJP strongman BS Yeddyurappa, has now got his backing.
Gowda was handpicked by Yeddyurappa who was bent on defeating Shettar as he thought was senior party leader HN Ananthakumar’s protégé.
Gowda reportedly not only defied the diktat of Yeddyurappa but also started taking control over party affairs that cost him his seat. But it was Yeddyurappa’s rebellion the second time around that proved lucky for Shettar.
Shettar told The Pioneer that he was happy about the party’s decision. He expressed confidence that he will be able to take everyone along. Shettar, who is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday, had a busy schedule as Ministers, MLAs and aspirants thronged his residence. After the official announcement, Shettar went straight to Yeddyurappa’s residence and held closed door discussions.
The soft-spoken Shettar, currently Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, assumes charge at a time when the party is deeply divided. Yeddyurappa came in for flak last year by a section of the Lingayat community for backing Gowda, who belongs to the Vokkaliga caste.
Shettar who hails from RSS and ABVP background was made state BJP secretary in 1996, and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly in 1999. In 2005, he was appointed BJP State president. He served as Revenue Minister in the BJP-JDS coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy in 2006. In 2008 after BJP came to power, he was made Assembly Speaker, much against his wishes as Yeddyurappa allegedly chose to sideline him. In 2009, he made a strong pitch to quit that post, and was made Rural Development Minister.
