Bangalore: Yeddyurappa draws up future plan

DHNS

• Loyalists to garner people’s support through campaign

 

Bangalore, 27 Sep 2012: Fresh trouble seems to be brewing in the State BJP with former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa staying away from party national executive and firming up his plans to quit the saffron organisation.

 

Sources close to Yeddyurappa said that the Lingayat strongman now camping at the Art of Living Ashram is busy drawing up a list of winnable  Assembly seats, in case he decides to sever ties with the party and float his own.

 

The sources said he is busy since Wednesday evening, making and receiving calls, drawing the list of constituencies which may go in his favour. If sources are to be believed, he has mentally distanced himself from the party and is focussing on making alternative arrangements for himself and his followers.

 

Leaders of a few national and regional parties are said to have called him to know his future plans.  His associates claim that the opponents of the BJP are waiting for Yeddyurappa to walk out of the party so that there is considerable damage to the saffron organisation.

 

Any such development will help the Opposition parties to have pre- or post-poll ties with Yeddyurappa, in case he manages to win an impressive number of seats. Some of his close associates are camping with him at the Ashram. He is expected to leave the Ashram Friday evening.

 

Some of his loyalists, including ministers, wanted to be in Delhi to meet the central leadership to pre-empt any move by the Delhi leaders to announce a new State party chief, other than Yeddyurappa, or at least make efforts to retain him in the party. But Yeddyurappa spiked their plans, it is said. His associates are making their best efforts to keep him tied to the party.

 

Last ditch effort

With Yeddyurappa remaining rigid, his loyalists are now set to make a last ditch effort to get their leader appointed as state BJP president by launching a state-wide ‘people mobilisation’ campaign from October 1.

 

Supporters of the former chief minister on Thursday met at the residence of Public Works Minister C M Udasi and are learnt to have discussed various options that could pressure the party central leadership in naming Yeddyurappa the party president.

 

Ministers Basavaraj Bommai, M P Renukacharya, Murugesh Nirani and a few legislators participated in the meeting. With their plans of visiting Delhi not being encouraged by Yeddyurappa, they decided to tour various parts of the State to drum up people’s support for their leader.

 

Yeddyurappa will launch the campaign on October 1 and will be visiting 100 constituencies during a 15-day whirlwind tour of the State, sources said. The BJP flag or symbol will not be used during the campaign.

 

The campaign will highlight the various pro-people programmes implemented during the tenure of Yeddyurappa as chief minister, the sources added.