Buzz about Shobha as BSY successor

DHNS

New Delhi, 24 July 2011: Is embattled Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa trying to push his trusted protege Shobha Karandlaje as his successor, if forced to resign in the wake of his likely indictment by the Lokayukta report, in the mining scam?

 

This has been the buzz in the political circle in the national capital for the past few days, though BJP officially refuse (refused) to comment on the issue.

 

The chief minister, who was here to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking coal allocation to the State’s  pending power projects, last week, also met all top BJP leaders.

‘Courtsey call’

 

He was understood to have taken Karandlaje with him to all these meetings and discussed with them the issue of her becoming his successor.

 

Though the chief minister termed it a courtsey call, sources close to him told Deccan Herald that Yeddyurappa, who had an inkling that the Lokayukta report would land him in trouble, brought Karandlaje along  and took her to meet top BJP leaders including L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitely and Sushma Swaraj.

 

He was also learnt to have asked the party leaders to make him as the State BJP unit president, promising to bring the party back to power in the next State elections.

 

Son absent

 

Unlike his previous meeting with senior party leaders in Delhi, where he used to come with ministers like Higher Education Minister V S Acharya or Law Minister Suresh Kumar, during his last visit he was accompanied only by the power minister. This raised many eyebrows in the party circle. Surprisingly, his son and MP B Y Raghavendra was conspicuous by his absence during the visit. Sources close to the chief minister told Deccan Herald that Yeddyurappa went on a week-long tour of Mauritius,  along with family members ,numbering around 20, just to convince them about his move to install Shobha as his successor.

 

The chief minister, who is very keen that his family should not be hostile to his decision on this issue, wants his family’s stamp of approval on his future move.

 

Sources in the know of the  development further said that fearing that the Lokayukta would nail him, Yeddyurappa proposed Shobha’s name when the issue of alternative options was discussed in the BJP state committee meeting held on July 14- 15 at Hubli.

 

However it was strongly opposed by some Vokkaliga leaders, including Home Minister R Ashok.