The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : New President for State BJP in a week

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 13, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

New President for State BJP in a week

Staff Reporter

The new chief will be a consensus candidate: Venkaiah Naidu

BANGALORE: The State Bharatiya Janata Party will have a new President within a week, with the incumbent Jagadish Shettar having been made a Minister in the BJP-Janata Dal (S) coalition Government, the former BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu has said.

Mr. Naidu told presspersons here on Sunday that there was no conflict or difference of opinion within the party, and the State President would be appointed as a replacement for Mr. Shettar after consultations and consensus. It would not be through election but appointment of someone in place of Mr. Shettar He said the media was free to speculate the names of "possible" candidates. To a question, he said that there was no truth in the reports that the party General Secretary H.N. Ananth Kumar's candidate had been selected over the choice of Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to head the State unit.

It is clear that the many favourites who were expected to get a berth in the Cabinet during the expansion last month have been told to stop sulking and fall in line.

Mr. Naidu made this amply clear at Sunday's meeting with party workers. "Everyone cannot be Ministers, and all Ministers cannot be Chief Ministers. Just remember that it is in your hands to take the party forward to a bright future in the South." For the many legislators who are waiting to be appointed chairpersons of the various boards and corporations, about 25 of these 50-odd functioning bodies will be the BJP's share, too there was a message that they must accept whatever comes their way.

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