BANGALORE: The former Minister and senior leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) Mohammed Merajuddin Patel is tipped to be the new president of the party's State unit. He is expected to take charge from Home Minister M.P. Prakash.

The announcement is expected on Saturday after a meeting of senior leaders of the Janata Dal (S). The former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) president H.D. Deve Gowda will preside over the meeting, which will be attended by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, the former Ministers D. Manjunath, Thippeswamy and M. Rajasekhara Murthy, apart from Mr. Prakash. Mr. Manjunath and Mr. Thippeswamy were under consideration for the post. Sources in the party told The Hindu here on Thursday that 49-year-old Mr. Patel , who had been a member of the Deve Gowda and J.H. Patel ministries, apart from the N. Dharam Singh Ministry, is expected to be the unanimous choice for the post.

By selecting Mr. Patel for the post, the Janata Dal (S) leadership intends to send out a clear signal about its unflinching commitment to its secular ideology. Not everyone in the party is happy about the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State. The choice of Mr. Patel drives home the point that the party aligned with the BJP out of political compulsions.

While a change of guard at the State level has been on the cards, the timing of the appointment is significant. With the byelection to the Chamundeshwari Assembly seat expected shortly, the party has wants a new president at the helm in the State.

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