The former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party disgruntled leader B.S. Yeddyurappa, who has been indirectly threatening of late that he may quit the party if he continued to be ignored, on Friday dropped clear hints that he would wait till December to make the crucial decision on his political future.
“I am feeling suffocated in the party. But it is a strange situation as I cannot quit the party before Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar completes his term, since it is me who fought for getting that post to him. But I will take the decision on my political future sometime in November-December after knowing the pulse of people through a State tour,” he told mediapersons here.
To a barrage of questions on why he was delaying the decision on quitting the party despite repeatedly hinting so, he only said: “I am waiting for the suitable time”.
However, Mr. Yeddyurappa did not give a direct reply to any of the questions related to his political future, and only said: “I will let you know whenever I take a decision.”
Close on the heels of the party leadership indicating that it would stick to its stand of not considering him for the post of party State unit president till the charges of corruption against him were disproved, Mr. Yeddyurappa remarked: “I am not aspiring for any post, including that of party State unit president. Even if the party wants me to become State unit president, I will not accept it.”
He asked his supporters to desist from demanding State unit president’s post for him. But hours after his statement, his supporters reiterated their demand for appointing him as State unit president.
At the same time, he indicated that he was eying the chief ministerial post after the next elections by remarking that: “If at all I become Chief Minister again, it will be by seeking the blessings of people (by seeking their mandate).”
Dig at Eshwarappa
Mr. Yeddyurappa continued to train his guns at party State unit president K.S. Eshwarappa who has become Deputy Chief Minister, by demanding that he should quit the ministry and continue as only State unit president.
Recalling that Mr. Eshwarappa had taken an indirect pot-shot at him earlier by remarking that the role of money and caste as well as “operation kamala” was affecting the party and that there was a need to free the party from such influences, Mr. Yeddyurappa ridiculed: “How can Mr. Eshwarappa complete his task (of freeing the party from money and caste power) if he quits party State president’s post?”
Defending his action of embarrassing the party on many occasions by criticising it like an Opposition leader, he said: “I am like an Opposition activist. But it is due to such efforts that the government took several good decisions including waiving of farmers’ loans”.
Attacking the UPA government for directing the State to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu during the time of distress, he demanded that the senior Congress leaders from the State, who are also ministers in the Union Cabinet, should be ready to quit the ministry and join the protest against such a directive of the Centre if the need arose.
