BANGALORE: Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is still undecided about his participation in the crucial meeting between the state BJP core group and the national leaders to be held on March 3 in Delhi.
BJP national president Nitin Gadkari himself has convened the meeting to hammer out differences within the state BJP, including the leadership issue, that has become the bone of contention between Yeddyurappa and his detractors.
While Yeddyurappa is demanding his reinstatement as the CM, his detractors, particularly D V Sadananda Gowda, are hell bent on continuing with the present arrangement. Interestingly, the party high-command has sided with the anti-Yeddyurappa camp owing to the corruption charges against the Lingayat strongman.
According to sources, Yeddyurappa is not keen on attending the meeting as party high command has already taken a decision to continue with Gowda as CM. “Yeddyurappa is still in a dilemma. Since Gadkari himself has categorically ruled out the change in leadership in Karnataka soon, Yeddyurappa sees no point in attending the meeting,” said his close associate.
However, some of his supporters are persuading him to attend the meeting fearing that the boycott would further strain Yeddyurappa’s relations with the party national leaders and channels of bargaining would close forever.
The BJP leaders who are hoping to regain power at the Centre after the 2014 Parliamentary elections, do not want to antagonise the Lingayat community, the BJP’s major votebank in Karnataka, by sidelining its leader.
Eshwarappa, Jagadish Shettar and H N Ananthkumar have also been invited for the meet.