Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is learnt to have cancelled the BJP Legislature Party meeting scheduled for July 26, which is the day that marks the second anniversary of his government. Speculation around leadership change was centred around his completion of two years at the helm.
However, party legislators will still be meeting, but on July 25 for a dinner to be hosted by the Chief Minister in Bengaluru. “But it is only a dinner and not legislature party meeting,” a BJP leader said. While no official reason has been cited for turning the BJPLP meeting into just a dinner, political circles are interpreting this as an effort to pre-empt further speculation and theories that have projected July 26 as D-Day when some crucial decisions or announcement on leadership change/resignation is expected to be made.
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Not holding a legislature party meeting on that day would at least slow down or dilute the speculation that something major is going to happen, said sources close to the Chief Minister. In fact, his Political Secretary M. P. Renukacharya had, on Sunday, claimed that it was only a dinner meeting and not a legislature party meeting at all.
The Chief Minister, soon after his Delhi visit, had announced the legislature party meeting. Expectation was that clarity would emerge on the leadership issue during the meeting, and this got further strengthened with an audio clip surfacing, allegedly of party State president Nalin Kumar Kateel hinting at a change of guard.
Now, the cancellation of the legislature party meeting is being seen as a counter strategy by the Chief Minister’s camp to put off any immediate possibility of him having to step down.
