Top BJP leaders regarding a successor to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who resigned on Monday, may create a surprise in the state.
Though several names are in the news, two names are at the fore in the race: Union minister Pralhad Joshi, a Brahmin and BJP national general secretary CT Ravi, a Vokkaliga. While Joshi’s elevation will be for the first time since 1988 as the chief minister of the Brahmin community, Ravi’s appointment will help the party expand its footprint in southern Karnataka.
The BJP has already played a gamble by ousting Yeddyurappa, a strong Lingayat leader, and though there is murmur that a Lingayat should replace him, the chances seem slim.
Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday said that no one spoke to him about the change and he was not aware whether BS Yediyurappa has been asked to resign. Emphasizing that he does not answer hypothetical questions with ifs and buts, Joshi said, “The BJP has no high command but a national leadership. We got different leads from time to time. It was Rajnath Singh, followed by Nitin Gadkari, who was followed by Amit Shah and now JP Nadda. In the current situation, we have Supreme Leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. They’ll decide.”
Joshi has been an MP from Dharwad, a city in northwestern Karnataka, since 2004. He had also served as the state unit president of the BJP from July 2012 to January 2016.
If promoted, Joshi will be the third politician from Hubballi to hold the role after SR Bommai and Jagadish Shettar.
BJP leader Umesh Dushi was quoted by the Times of India as saying that Joshi’s community has around 85,000 votes in the constituency, but their victory margin in the 2019 election was over 2 lakh. He also said that the local unit of the party still does not know whether Joshi will be made the chief minister or not.
Joshi has good relations with other party leaders in Hubli-Dharwad and also in Karnataka. Former Congress MP Professor IG Sanadi said Joshi trained under the late HN Ananth Kumar, and is now close to the prime minister, so his “commitment and dedication” to the party could lead to him being chosen as the chief minister.
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