Yeddyurappa will have say in CM choice

New Delhi, July 30 (PTI) Outgoing south Indian state
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has reportedly
suggested a list of names to succeed him after the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) central leadership made it clear Saturday
that he will not be heading the state party unit.
Party sources said the choice for chief minister is
still open and negotiations were on between the central
observers Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and the Yeddyurappa
camp.
The outgoing chief minister, who has now categorically
told the central leadership that he will submit his
resignation Sunday, has suggested some names and said as
long as a choice is made from this panel he would not object.
Among the front-runners for the chief minister's post
are Law and Justice Minister Suresh Kumar S, Udipi MP and
former state unit president Sadanand Gowda and Higher
Education Minister V S Acharya.
Kumar is said to be a leader with a clean image who is
close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). However, he is
considered a light-weight.
Moreover, he is a Brahmin, a community which is
numerically not very strong in Karnataka.
The Central leadership is said to be in two minds
about Gowda, a Vokkaliga leader, as he is considered too
amiable and hence may not be able to quell any dissenting
voices. He may not be a good administrator either, some in the
party feel.
Acharya, a Brahmin, is acceptable to many across the
board but is now reportedly losing out in the race, sources
said.
The name of Shoba Karandlaje, a close associate of
Yeddyurappa, was suggested by some leaders of the party but
the chief minister himself is not keen on it. Hence her
name was dropped.

Meanwhile, it has been made clear by the Central
leadership to Yeddyurappa that since he is having a say on who
becomes the next chief minister, he will himself have to give
up his demand of becoming the state unit chief. This would
mean Eshwarappa may be allowed to continue.
Sources close to Yeddyurappa said he has asked
Governor H R Bhardwaj for an appointment Sunday anytime
after 1 pm when the inauspicious time, as per astrological
calender, gets over. He will then tender his resignation.
A clear picture on the successor will emerge only
Sunday, sources said.
After the BJP Central leadership made it clear that
the new Chief Minister will be chosen only in consultation
with Yeddyurappa, he has conveyed that the names of his bete
noire Ananth Kumar, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
Minister Jagadish Shettar and state unit President K S
Eshwarappa were not acceptable to him.
Kumar has been in the forefront in fomenting rebellion
against Yeddyurappa in the past, Shettar is a Lingayat leader
who may emerge as a challenge to Yeddyurappa as both belong to
the same community, while Eshwarappa - who has also faced
corruption charges in the past - and the chief minister have
had major differences in the recent past.
The BJP does not want as chief minister a leader who
cannot ensure smooth sailing for the remaining two years of
this Assembly in Karnataka. This is said to be the main factor
weighing on the minds of party president Nitin Gadkari and his
team.