The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could announce outgoing Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's successor today. Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and G Kishan Reddy will be the BJP's central observers for the legislature party meeting on Tuesday evening to elect a new leader to replace BS Yediyurappa as the CM. Central observers generally convey the party leadership's view to the MLAs before they elect their leader.
The BJP legislature party in Bengaluru will meet at 7 pm after which the name of the next Chief Minister is likely to be announced.
"There is a legislature party meeting today at 7 pm at a private hotel," Basavaraj S Bommai, who served as Home Minister in the dissolved B S Yediyurappa Cabinet, said. After this, a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board will be held where a final decision (on the new Chief Minister) will be taken, he said.
Yediyurappa stepped down on Monday, coinciding with his government completing two years in office. The Lingayat strongman was considered the face of the BJP in the state in the past two decades. Earlier on Sunday, he had dropped hints that he could resign when the politician said that he "will continue to work for the BJP for the next 10-15 years".
The 78-year-old BJP veteran, who submitted his resignation to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at the Raj Bhavan, said he quit "voluntarily" and will continue to remain active in state politics.
Immediately after the resignation of Yediyurappa, BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Minister Amit Shah and Parliamentary Affairs and Mining minister Prahlad Joshi held a closed-door meeting in Delhi to discuss the state developments.
Sources said that the names of deputy CM Laxman Savadi, Mining Minister Murugesh Nirani and Home Minister Basavaraj S Bommai are doing the rounds as frontrunners for the CM's chair. Apart from these, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP national General Secretary C T Ravi, its national organising secretary B L Santhosh and state Assembly Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri are also in the race.
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