Surrounded by his party MLAs and ministers, Yeddyurappa was a picture of poise and confidence at the press conference.
It was a crowded press conference, but with BJP legislators and cabinet ministers too turning up in huge numbers, almost on par with the media brigade, the event turned out to be a show of strength of chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s leadership amid the buzz of reported moves by a section of the party leadership to ensure his exit.
Over 12 ministers and more than 30 legislators flanked the chief minister as he addressed the media.
There is more than just the show to convey the message that he is still the undisputed leader in state BJP even after the leak of the Lokayukta report on illegal mining. The chief minister has chalked out an elaborate action plan to prove the point that the party high command has no option but to go with him or face fresh elections. “There is no question of quitting over the leaked report of the Lok Aayukta,” he said.
“Let us talk about these charges and what action should be taken only after the report is submitted,” he said even as he unveiled his road map to prepare for the worst if the turn of events go against him.
Yeddyurappa has convened a meeting of BJP MPs at his residence on July 31 to brief them about the strategies to be adopted in parliament to defend him on all the issues that would be raised about illegal mining, the Lokayukta report and corruption. They would be briefed on how to counter the offensive in parliament session, which is starting on August 1.
The chief minister also said that he had convened a BJP legislature party meeting on August 5 to formulate plans for toning up the administration and speeding up development works in the remaining 21 months of his five-year tenure to ensure that BJP returns to power in the next election with resounding victory.
This is not all. The chief minister will hit the road almost on a campaign trail from August first week to address huge public meetings covering 20 districts.
“I will tour the state in two phases. I will cover 10 districts in each phase and enlighten the people about the false allegations being made by opposition leaders to malign my government. The opposition is scared of the fact that they would be wiped out if my government completes its five-year term,” he said.
None other than JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda himself had stated the need to bring down this government by openly confessing that JD(S) would be wiped out if the present government was allowed to complete its term.
However, Yeddyurappa strongly denied reports that he had threatened BJP national president Nitin Gadkari of causing a revolt in the party if any attempt was made to ease him out from chief minister’s post. “It is false reportage by a section of the media. There is no question of me threatening Gadkari. I will abide by the decisions of BJP high command,” he said.
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