Around 27 legislators, disgruntled over not getting ministership, have held two rounds of meetings in the last three days. While their main grouse is not getting the ministerial position, their talking point is the ageing Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa (BSY), and their pitch to replace him.
Party leaders Basavaraj Yatnal, Murgesh Nirani, Umesh Katti and Raju Gouda are believed to be spearheading the campaign against BSY. However, how far they will go is the big question, given the fact that in the last 18 months there have been over a dozen such attempts, including an anonymous letter renouncing the “ageing” Chief Minister.
Sources say that the BJP high command is in two minds to give them a hearing: One, because of BSY’s astute handling of Covid-19; and, two, his dominance over Lingayat vote-bank. He simply can’t be persona non grata at this juncture for the party. Having said that, the central BJP is proactively involved in the transition for the post-BSY era, and the mastermind behind the plan in B.L. Santosh. It is, however, still early days to write the political obituary of the Lingayat strongman.