Bengaluru: With the BJP high command projecting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai as the face of the party for the 2023 Assembly polls and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa deciding to go on a state-wide yatra to prove his hold over the electorate, party workers are in a dilemma. To defuse the growing confusion, Bommai took the first step and met Yediyurappa in an unannounced and secret meeting Sunday morning.
Party sources said it was a face to face one-on-one, closed-door meeting and it was part of continuing efforts of Bommai to keep the party veteran in good humour, especially ahead of the legislature session beginning from September 13. Bommai assured Yediyurappa that he will remain solidly behind his ‘guru’ on the floor of the House especially as the opposition Congress is reportedly planning to raise the issue of several alleged scams during the Yediyurappa period, party sources said.
For official records, the meeting was a courtesy call and lasted about 15 minutes at Yediyurappa’s residence. Party workers felt that the hush-hush meeting could also be to discuss appointments to various boards and corporations. Bommai could not have gone ahead with this crucial decision without consulting Yediyurappa, they pointed out.
Sources also said that Bommai may have tried to draw from Yediyurappa’s experience on handling the crucial zilla and taluk panchayat elections, which are the first litmus test for the new chief minister, they said.
Significantly at a meeting on Sunday, Bommai termed Yediyurappa as the Karnataka BJP government’s ‘guide’.
“Apart from presenting a budget dedicated to the agriculture sector for the first time in the country, Yediyurappa implemented many pro-farmers schemes,” Bommai said in his speech.
Last week during his visit to the State, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that Yediyurappa resigned on his own and had picked Bommai as his successor. The highcommand is now keen that Bommai should use all his charms to keep Yediyurappa under control.
