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M.P. Prakash chosen leader of Janata Dal(S) Legislature Party

Special Correspondent

New leader gets the backing of 60 of 66 legislators of the JD(S)

BANGALORE: The Janata Dal (Secular) on Thursday won the first stage of the battle against the rebel leader and Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, by successfully ousting him from the leadership of its legislature party with a majority of the party legislators unanimously electing the Minister for Revenue, M.P. Prakash, in his place.

At a simple function held at the official residence of Mr. Prakash, the president of the State unit of the Janata Dal (S), N. Thippanna, announced the election of the new leader in the presence of 60 of the 66 legislators of the party and a large number of party activists. At a meeting of the legislature party on Monday, Mr. Prakash was elected the leader but the announcement was delayed owing to the legislature session.

In yet another development, the president of the Janata Dal (S) and former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, rejected the proposal of the State BJP to align itself with his party in forming an alternative government in the State. Mr. Deve Gowda made it clear that he had given a firm commitment to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, and the Janata Dal (S) would stand by that. It is stated that the BJP, which has 79 MLAs, was on the verge of a split following differences between a section of legislators owing allegiance to the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, B.S. Yediyurappa, and the group led by the party general secretary, H.N. Ananth Kumar.

Delicate exercise

The next stage of the battle in the Janata Dal (S) pertaining to the removal of Mr. Siddaramaiah, the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, H.C. Mahadevappa, and the Minister for Textiles, Satish Jharkiholi, from the Council of Ministers is in the court of the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh. On receiving a formal letter from the newly-elected Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party leader seeking changes in the Ministry, the Chief Minister will have to drop the three of them. Mr. Prakash is expected to call on the Chief Minister on the latter's return from a personal trip to Hyderabad on Friday. Sources in the Chief Minister's secretariat told The Hindu that the removal of the three Ministers is in itself expected to be a delicate exercise and also time-consuming. The Chief Minister armed with the letter from the Janata Dal (S) Legislature Party leader has to first seek their resignations. In case, they refuse, he has to convene a meeting of the Council of Ministers and call upon its members, including those of the Congress, to send in their resignation letters and thereafter selectively send those of Mr. Siddaramaiah and the two others to the Governor for his acceptance. If the three Ministers remain adamant, the Chief Minister will then be compelled to exercise the option of dismissing them from the Ministry. Mr. Prakash will take over as Deputy Chief Minister only after this.

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