BJP leaders trying to dethrone Shettar: Yeddyurappa

Bangalore/Haveri: KJP President B S Yeddyurappa today claimed some BJP leaders are competing with each other to unseat Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar from power.

“There are some BJP leaders competing with each other to dethrone Shettar,” the former chief minister, who broke away from the BJP to head the Karnataka Janata Paksha, told reporters here.

Reacting to former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda’s remarks that the resignation of BJP MLAs close to Yeddyurappa would not affect the government, KJP chief said, “Let him say what he wants to say, but I will do what I have to do.”

Yeddyurappa said a final decision on whether to bring down the Shettar Government would be taken at an executive committee meeting of the KJP here on January 4. He also said the state would witness “important political changes” after Sankranti festival (January 14).

Yeddyurappa reiterated that the BJP Government had lost the right to present the next year’s budget as it was “losing numbers” with each passing day. In another development, BJP MLA Nehru Olekar speaking to reporters in Haveri predicted that the Shettar Government would collapse after 15 January.

Olekar, also the Chairman of the SC/ST Development Corporation and a staunch loyalist of Yeddyurappa, claimed that at least 25 to 30 MLAs were ready to quit enmasse and a decision on it would be taken at the KJP Executive on 4 January.

PTI