Daijiworld Media Network - Dharwad (SP)

Dharwad, Dec 26: Senior BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who has the uncanny knack of courting controversies, said that the state's political leadership will undergo a sea-change by Sankranthi festival that falls on January 14, 2021. In a strong rebuttal to Yatnal's umpteenth statement that has again triggered a friction within the BJP, former chief minister and union minister D V Sadananda Gowda, questioned the authority based on which Yatnal is speaking about this issue.

Yatnal said that it need not come as surprise if he becomes the chief minister (CM) of Karnataka after the said festival. "Union home minister Amit Shah, will visit Vijayapura on January 16. By then, the state will witness a lot of changes. No one can stop me from becoming the CM if it is written in my fate," he stated.

D V Sadananda Gowda (left) and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal

D V Sadananda Gowda wondered the position of eminence based on which Yatnal is making these predictions. He pointed out that Yatnal is neither a national level leader of the party nor the state BJP president. He said that one's utterances gain respect and recognition only when they come from a proper person at a proper place in a proper manner. He said that these statements do not augur well from the point of view of the future prospects of Yatnal.

State BJP general secretary N Ravikumar, reasoned that Yatnal is distraught at not being made a minister and therefore he keeps issuing such statements. He said that state BJP in-charge Arun Singh, has already clarified that there will not be any change in the state leadership.