Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa affirmed more than once on Saturday that Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi will continue to hold his post for the next three-and-a-half years.
Speaking at Shiraguppi in Belagavi district, he said: “Some people are talking about Mr. Savadi losing his position depending on the byelection results. That is not true. He will continue to be a member of the Cabinet and the Deputy Chief Minister,” he said. He repeated this statement thrice in the course of his speech.
The BJP, which made Mr. Savadi the Deputy Chief Minister despite him not being an MLA, has denied him ticket to contest bypolls from Athani, leaving him unhappy and leading to speculations about his continuity in the Ministry.
“Earlier, there was some confusion in the minds of party workers over the choice of candidates. But now, everything has been settled. All of them will work unitedly,” he said.
Mr. Yediyurappa also said that all the disqualified MLAs, who have been fielded by the BJP in the bypolls, would be made Ministers.
He told presspersons in Shiraguppi village that all the BJP candidates would win. “I have become the Chief Minister as the disqualified MLAs resigned from their parties. I attribute my position to them,” he said.
The Chief Minister made a similar statement at a party workers’ rally in Athani. He said that no one could forget the fact that the BJP had come to power owing to the resignations of the disqualified MLAs. “We will have to return their favour by ensuring that they win the bypolls,” he said.
He said that the Congress and the JD(S) were desperate and looking at defeat. “That is why their leaders are speaking about the BJP losing power after the byelections,” he said. Reacting to JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy’s statement that the political situation before the Lok Sabha polls was different compared to before the bypolls, Mr. Yediyurappa sarcastically said: “He is right. Then the Opposition had won one seat each. Now, they will lose all seats.”
