Gowda survives as Karnataka Chief Minister till Sunday

DV Sadananda Gowda gets to be Chief Minister of Karnataka till Sunday after which he will know his fate. Senior party leaders along with Gowda are expected to meet with party president Nitin Gadkari on Sunday after which the decision about Gowda’s fate is expected to be announced. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley told reporters that the final decision on Gowda would be taken after they briefed party president tomorrow. “The Chief Minister will meet Nitin Gadkari early tomorrow morning. After he meets the party president, whatever the Parliamentary Board and core group of the party has decided will be announced,” Jaitley said. [caption id=“attachment_371145” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Gowda was made chief minister almost a year ago and is the second since the BJP came to power in Karnataka. Screen grab from CNN IBN.[/caption]The announcement on a potential change in leadership in the state will be made after that. Gowda had travelled to Delhi from Bangalore today in order to meet with senior BJP leaders. Earlier today, the BJP’s core group held a meeting in Delhi today in which they reportedly decided to accede to former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa‘s demand and replace Gowda, who ironically was picked for the post by the Lingayat community leader. Jagdish Shettar, who has been nominated by Yeddyurappa, is likely to be the next chief minister of Karnataka. However, the BJP refused to substantiate any of the reports. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the party’s core group had met to discuss the situation in Karnataka and refused to divulge any decision that might have been taken. Shettar, who is presently the Rural Development Minister, is Yeddyurappa‘s choice for the top post in the state. The party is also likely to appoint a Deputy Chief Minister to placate other senior party leaders representing different communities of Karnataka. The names of Minister R Ashok and Karnataka BJP chief K S Eshwarappa are doing the rounds for the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Gowda had atttempted to put up a brave front after arriving in Delhi and said the decision on whether he should stay on as chief minister should not be delayed. “I want to impress upon my leaders that immediate decision should be taken and whatever it may be, the administration should go on smoothly,” he said.