Eshwarappa likely to become state BJP president

Thursday, 21 January 2010

State Power Minister K S Eshwarappa is all set to become the new president of the state BJP. Senior BJP leaders who met at CM B S Yeddyurappa’s Dollar’s Colony residence in Bangalore on Wednesday late in the evening, finalised the name of Eshwarappa to replace outgoing president D V Sadanand Gowda. It is learnt
that Eshwarappa, who has served as the BJP’s state president before, has accepte the offer and said that he would soon resign as the power minister owing to party’s principle of ‘one man, one post’. However, the official announcement of Eshwarappa’s election is likely to be made only on January 30. BJP national

president Nitin Gadkari is expected to make the announcement. The choice of Eshwarappa has surprised the rank and file of the state BJP including those who were aspiring for the post. Till yesterday, the names of higher education minister Aravind Limbavali, MLA CT Ravi, former MLA Araga Gnanendra, Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi, and former Mysore MP C H Vijayashankar
were doing the rounds for the coveted post. According to sources, the decision to install Eshwarappa as the state president was taken in consultation with the party national leadership and the RSS. The main reason behind choosing the power minister seems to be fear that dissidence may erupt in the party if another candidate is elected without a clear consensus. The party leadership is confident that nobody would object to Eshwarappa’s election as president considering his seniority in the party. However, some in the party feel that the decision was mainly aimed at putting a check on Yeddyurappa who is regarded as taking decisions on party affairs without consulting other leaders.