BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai threw a surprise on Sunday, announcing that he will go on a statewide tour, like his mentor and predecessor BS Yediyurappa.
Asked about the two BJP heavyweights taking up such tours, BJP senior leaders said that Yediyurappa, along with party state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, senior leader DV Sadananda Gowda and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, is aiming at strengthening the party ahead of the Assembly elections next year, while Bommai will only focus on stimulating the administrative apparatus of districts.
They pointed out that Bommai has already been touring several districts and has recently visited Haveri, Belagavi, Uttar Kannada and Mysore districts.
His tours will be administrative, and not political, in nature. There is no confusion between his and Yediyurappa’s tours.
Political analyst BS Murthy said, “Looks like, the tours of both Bommai and Yediyurappa will start after the Assembly session. Will Yediyurappa’s tour be undermined, because of all the media attention the Bommai’s tour will obviously get? The recent statement by Yediyurappa that Modi’s name alone cannot win elections is also a concern for the BJP as 25 Legislative Council seats go to polls in around three months. It is a testing time for Bommai as Yediyurappa’s tour could pose a challenge for the party and administration.”
While there have been concerns about the party deliberately sidelining Yediyurappa, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “Yediyurappa is our party’s leader, there are no attempts to sideline him.”