Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru (RJP)

Bengaluru, Apr 10: It is now revealed that before appointing B S Yeddyurappa as state party chief, the local leadership, contrary to tradition, was not taken into confidence at all.

Survey by a private agency, intelligence reports and inputs from Vajubhai Vala, the governor of Karnataka, played a major role in the appointment of Yeddyurappa as party chief, sources said, adding that local leaders, no matter who, were completely sidelined.

Some powerful leaders from Karnataka had secretly conveyed messages to New Delhi that they did not have objection to Yeddyurappa being projected as the chief ministerial candidate. But they did not want him as party president as they believed Yeddyurappa would form his own 'inner group'. These leaders believed that their opinions would be considered during the appointment.

But national BJP president Amit Shah had his own plans. He reportedly hired a private agency to do a survey on who could be the best candidate to take over the leadership in Karnataka. The unnamed agency studied all the prevailing situations in the state including the popularity of BJP leaders, their influence on voters, their charisma etc. The agency also studied the Congress party leadership in the state and came to the conclusion that only Yeddyurappa had the ability to take on the Congress. Intelligence reports and inputs by Vajubhai Vala, who is a close friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, also boosted Yeddyurappa’s chances, it is gathered. Yeddyurappa’s frequent presence in New Delhi as member of Parliament also helped.

Only Yeddyurappa and Santosh, a party organising general secretary from Shivamogga, were summoned to New Delhi on the day of Ugadi before Yeddyurappa was officially announced as Karnataka BJP party chief. State bigwigs like former party chief Prahlad Joshi, Ananth Kumar, D V Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar, K S Eshwarappa and R Ashok were informed only few minutes before the announcement, while other leaders received the news only from the media, sources said.

It is said that Amit Shah had decided not to consult local leaders as he believed that their opinions would not help in any way in choosing the right person for the party's top post in the state.