Pralhad Joshi, Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri are front runners
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s central leadership is set to appoint new president for the party’s Karnataka unit in two to three days.
“The appointment will be announced in Delhi this week itself,” highly placed sources in the party told The Hindu.
The party is in the process of finding a new president as the incumbent, K.S. Eshwarappa, has joined the ministry and become Deputy Chief Minister. The party norms stipulate that a person cannot hold two prominent positions.
BJP State general secretary and Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi and Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri are said to have emerged front runners in the race for the party’s organisational top post.
“It is most likely that either of the two are going to get the State president’s post if things go on expected lines. At the same time, the remote possibility of bringing in a new candidate is also not ruled out as the political situation is still hazy,” sources noted. It is learnt that the party organisation is particular about helping new leadership emerge in the party by appointing a young leader with strong organisational background as the new State unit president. Another criterion that the party is said to be considering is that the new president should not be mired in cases related to corruption.
Caste factor
The caste and community equations are also reportedly playing a role in the selection of the new president as the party is trying to give representation to various communities either in the government or the party, keeping an eye on the forthcoming Assembly elections. Already the party has formed a combination of Lingayat, Kuruba and Vokkaliga leaders by choosing the leaders from these communities for the posts of Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers.
The appointment of the new president is also set to mark the beginning of hectic activities in the BJP as the party is waiting for the new State chief’s appointment to finalise various programmes related to polls. In fact, the party is set to launch a formal election campaign from October involving a State tour of all its prominent leaders.
Keywords: Karnataka BJP leader, new president
