Yeddyurappa to host luncheon meet at home today

Moving a step ahead to realise his plans to float a new party, former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has organised a luncheon meeting with his loyalist ministers and party MLAs on Tuesday.

The meeting to be held at his Dollars Colony residence at 2 pm  comes at a time when efforts are being made by the state and national BJP leaders to retain the beleaguered Lingayat leader in the party. Yeddyurappa on his part has made it clear that he would not go back on his decision to quit the BJP.

All ministers and MLAs who had been identified with Yeddyurappa in the past have been invited to the meeting, said a senior minister in the Jagadish Shettar Cabinet on conditions of anonymity.

“Apart from enlisting the support, the main agenda of the meeting is to convince the legislators about Yeddyurappa’s plans. Though several MLAs are willing to join Karnataka Janata Party, they are skeptical about its success in the next Assembly elections. Yeddyurappa will try to dispel this skepticism and explain them his game-plan with finer details in the meeting,” he added. Yeddyurappa is also expected to ask the legislators to join him.

On the other hand, BJP’s pointman in Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan will come to Bangalore on Tuesday evening to take stock of the situation.

Pradhan will be holding meetings with party MPs from the state and ministers on Wednesday morning. “After taking the opinion of the MLAs, ministers and MPs, Pradhan will give a report to the high command, based on which the latter will decide on the ways to retain Yeddyurappa,” said a BJP party functionary.

Both the state BJP leaders and loyalist ministers had last week, requested the party high command to work out a strategy to retain Yeddyurappa as his exit would harm the party’s prospects in the state. The meeting will be held at his Dollars Colony resident at 2 pm.