BJP national general secretary H N Ananth Kumar has reportedly given his consent for re-entry of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa to his party without any pre-condition.
This has come as a sigh of relief for Yeddyurappa and his supporters as they had seen Kumar, considered to be a close aide of former deputy prime minister L K Advani, as a stumbling block in their leader’s return to the BJP.
Sources said the core committee members of the BJP Karnataka unit are waiting for a call from the national leaders to explain their stand on Yeddyurappa’s issue. It is learnt that former CM Jagadish Shettar, former deputy chief ministers K S Eshwarappa and R Ashok and state BJP president Prahlad Joshi have decided to support Kumar’s decision. Till last week, Yeddyurappa, who is KJP president, had reportedly put a condition — only after having a direct talk with BJP national president Rajnath Singh and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi — on his return. Meanwhile, BJP Karnataka in-charge Thawarchand Gehlot made it clear that his party would consider admitting Yeddyurappa only after receiving a proposal from the former CM. This came as a shock for Yeddyurappa as he had thought that the BJP national leaders would send emissary to talk to him. When it did not happen, he found no option but to fall in line and approach the BJP bosses as underlined by Gehlot.
Close on the heels of these developments, Yeddyurappa, a strong Lingayat leader, learnt to have held a closed-door meeting with his supporters and discussed with them the pros and cons of returning to the BJP.
Former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda and other leaders have reportedly decided to go to Delhi and meet Singh and Modi to convey Yeddyurappa’s intentions to return to the BJP without any conditions.
Meanwhile, sources said the state BJP has not authorised Gowda or any others to hold a brief for Yeddyurappa with Singh or Modi.