BANGALORE: With his hopes of getting a ministerial berth in the Narendra Modi Cabinet fading, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is now gunning for the state BJP president’s post.
Yeddyurappa on Thursday wrote a letter to Modi expressing his readiness to take up the responsibility of strengthening the party in the state.
The letter comes at a time when there are reports that Modi is unhappy with senior state BJP leaders camping in Delhi lobbying for ministerial berths.
Modi’s determination to keep ‘tainted’ leaders out of his Cabinet and keep its size small has upset the calculations of many ministerial aspirants. Referring to his interaction with Modi in Delhi on May 18, Yeddyurappa, in his letter, said, “You (Narendra Modi) expressed that since the expectations and aspirations are too high across the country, at least a few capable leaders must come forward to take the responsibility and work towards strengthening the party in their respective states. As you expressed in general, I voluntarily and wholeheartedly offer my willingness towards strengthening the party in Karnataka.”
According to the party sources, Modi is expected to stick to his principle of more governance and less government.
Only one BJP MP from the state is expected to get a cabinet rank portfolio, while one or two are expected to be made Ministers of State. The BJP won 17 of the 28 seats in the State in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Any immediate change in State BJP leadership is unlikely as the party has performed well under the leadership of its State president Prahlad Joshi.