The BJP is embarrassed by the political drama being staged by Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was directed by the national leadership on Thursday to quit ‘immediately'.
Senior BJP leaders in New Delhi concede that the party did not anticipate that Mr. Yeddyurappa would put up such a stiff resistance to the party's plans to ensure a smooth transition of power.
A sense of unease here is evident from the fact that for the second day the party chose not to hold a news conference.
Conscious of the clout of Mr. Yeddyurappa in the Legislature Party and the State unit, the central leadership delayed the departure of observers to oversee the election of a new leader by a day.
Hours after Mr. Yeddyurappa was told in categorical terms that he had to leave office in the best interests of the party, BJP president Nitin Gadkari directed the former party president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, to go to Bangalore and pave the way for a successor.
“The expectation was that Mr. Naidu would succeed in his mission by the time senior party leaders Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh reach Bangalore. The events did not unfold according to the script…,” a senior party leader said.
