Bangalore: Race for BJP State Chief Hotting Up
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Sep 21: With the term of the present incumbent, D V Sadanand Gowda, set to end in November, the race for the lucrative post of the state president of the BJP is hotting up. There are many who are eager to take up the job, but the leadership of the party is compelled to thoroughly calculate the caste, creed and religious permutations and combinations before choosing the state president.

The organizational elections of the BJP will be held in October, followed by the state president's election. Still, as of now, it appears that the Sangh Parivar leaders, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and MP Anant Kumar will have a final say in the matter.

The party may not go in for a Lingayat candidate, as the Chief Minister belongs to that community. Therefore, the party is left with the option to choose from Brahmin, Vokkaliga, backward or scheduled communities for the present. There are two interested candidates from the Brahmin community for the post, ie., MP from Dharwar, Prahlad Joshi and primary and secondary education minister, Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri. As the present assembly speaker Jagadish Shettar had extracted a promise that he would be accommodated in the state cabinet soon, Kageri and Shettar might exchange places. In that scenario, Kageri will not get the post of the state president of the party.

Among the Vokkaligas, Chikmagalur MLA C T Ravi and from among the scheduled communities, minister Aravind Limbavali are vying for the post. From backward classes, names of former Mysore MP, C H Vijayashankar and Turuvekere former MLA, M D Lakshminarayan are being coined.  Both Ravi and Limbavali appear to be having the support of the Sangh Parivar leaders too. It was earlier said that Limbavali was not willing to forgo his ministerial berth in exchange for the post of the state president. However, in the recent past, the post of the state president has gained in importance and Limbavali is said to have evinced interest in the post. Ravi has been bargaining for either the ministerial berth or that of the state president of the party.

The party also needs to keep in mind the upcoming legislative council elections and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike election, that are set to be held soon.  The central leadership is yet to announce the time table for the organizational elections of the party, although MLA Shivayogi Swami has already been appointed as the returning officer for the organizational elections.