Mines and Geology Minister Murugesh Nirani, whose name was doing the rounds in political circles as a replacement of B.S. Yediyurappa, denied that he was lobbying for the Chief Minister’s post.
“I am not lobbying for the Chief Minister’s post. My recent visits to Delhi should not be misunderstood as lobbying. BJP is a disciplined party and there is no scope for lobbying. I keep visiting temples once a month or two and it has been my practice since my childhood. My recent visit to Varanasi was also a part of it. It need not be attributed to anything specific as some people did. The trip has nothing to do with politics,” Mr. Nirani said in his brief interaction with the journalists here on Saturday. He was here to take stock of the flood situation and the district administration’s preparations to handle it.
On the question of the new Chief Minister in the event of Mr. Yediyurappa’s resignation, Mr. Nirani said that the party high command would decide on it.
“All 120 BJP legislators are competent for the post. The party high command will pick the right person for the post if Mr. Yediyurappa resigns. But, there is no direction from the party’s national leadership on the issue. Mr. Yediyurappa is still our leader who will continue to lead us. We all are with him. Party leadership is very strong and it knows which position should be given to whom and when. I got many positions without aspiring for them. I was made a minister when I was elected to Assembly for the first time,” Mr. Nirani said.
Umesh Jadhav, MP, Basavaraj Mattimadu, MLA, and others were present.
