BANGALORE: Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa might be in two minds over attending the crucial core committee meeting to be held in Delhi on March 3, but not in his resolve to irk the party bosses, who have in no uncertain terms rejected his demand for reinstatement as chief minister.
Yeddyurappa and his supporters, who held a series of meetings here on Thursday, decided to drum up as much public support as possible by holding rallies in many parts of North Karnataka — the stronghold of the saffron party — before taking any drastic step, including deserting the BJP. However, the decision to hold rallies will be executed only in the event of an adverse outcome of the March 3 meeting.
According to the present plans, Yeddyurappa’s 70th birthday will be celebrated in a big way by organising a massive rally at Hubli on March 11 under the banner of “BSY Fan Club”. They have also decided to invite several seers and religious heads of various mutts for the rally. Many such rallies and programmes are expected to follow.
These rallies are being organised keeping two goals in mind. One, to keep Yeddyurappa’s support base intact, and if possible expand it. Second, to send a strong signal to the party high-command about the popularity of the Lingayat strongman and make it bend.
During Thursday’s meeting, the contentious issue whether or not to attend BJP national president Nitin Gadkari’s meeting with the state core group also came up for discussion. Most of Yeddyurappa’s supporters reportedly suggested the Lingayat strongman attend the meeting in order to keep the consultation channels open for the future.