The Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Arun Singh, is arriving in Bengaluru next week on a troubleshooting exercise in the wake of dissidence in the party State unit.
Mr. Singh has set the tempo for his visit by reiterating that there is no proposal before the party high command on replacing B.S. Yediyurappa as Chief Minister. “Mr. Yediyurappa will continue to be the Chief Minister,” he told mediapersons in New Delhi on Thursday. He added that Mr. Yediyurappa and Ministers had done “good work” during COVID-19 pandemic.
Seeking to downplay Mr. Yediyurappa’s statement that he would step down when the high command says it does not need him, he said, “That is the confidence Mr. Yediyurappa has in the high command.”
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Sources close to Mr. Singh said he would hold one-to-one meetings with several leaders, including Minister C.P. Yogeshwar who has raised a banner of revolt against Mr. Yediyurappa. Mr. Singh is expected to stay in Bengaluru for three days.
Some party old guards represented by government chief whip V. Sunil Kumar have demanded that the party high command provide a forum for them to express their views. When Mr. Singh was asked whether he would convene a legislature party meeting, he said he would take a call on the issue after assessing the situation during his visit. On the exchange of remarks by Mr. Yogeshwar and the Chief Minister’s camp, he said no one should issue such statements in public.
It is learnt that the Chief Minister’s camp is keen that the high command end speculations on leadership change if it has taken the decision to continue him in the post. His camp feels that it is difficult for the Chief Minister to work as speculations are creating political instability.
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