BANGALORE/NEWDELHI: A day after withdrawing his revolt, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his supporters headed for New Delhi on Wednesday for talks with the party high-command over the leadership issue.
It is believed that the Lingayat strongman has been summoned by the party to discuss his demand for a leadership change. Ministers Jagadish Shettar, C M Udasi, Umesh Katti and Basavaraj Bommai have accompanied Yeddyurappa. He will meet party national president Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and others to put forth his demands.
Even as Yeddyurappa left for Delhi, back in Bangalore, the political circles were abuzz with rumours that the party high command has decided to reinstate him as chief minister and the decision will be announced after the Budget session, which will conclude on March 30.
The anti-Yeddyurappa camp dismissed the rumours as the handiwork of the former CM’s camp.
Meanwhile, Municipal Administration Minister Balachandra Jarakiholi along with Minister Anand Asnotikar and KGF MLA Y Sampangi met Governor H R Bhardwaj, fuelling speculation that they would resign to stall Yeddyurappa’s come-back efforts.
Asked if he was being reinstated, Yeddyurappa, after landing in Delhi, refused a direct answer, saying, “The party high command alone can take a call on this,” and that the party decision would be “acceptable to him”.
CM Gowda, who was also summoned to Delhi on Wednesday, said Gadkari assured him there will be no change of leadership and that he was summoned to discuss the bypoll debacle.