BJP selects Yeddyurappa as leader

Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday elected B S Yeddyurappa as its legislative party leader in Karnataka.

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At a legislature party's meeting held on Monday, BJP leaders unanimously elected Yeddyurappa as their leader.

Yeddyurappa will meet Governor Rameshwar Thakur at Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the government. Meanwhile, backdoor negotiations continue to lure more independents into the party so that the BJP has the requisite number to prove its majority on the floor of the House.

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Former Union Minister Ananth Kumar and state party president Sadananda Gowda left half-way through the meeting to hold talks with the independents. They are hopeful that five of the independents will join the government.

At present, the BJP has 110 legislators and three more to form the government.

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Though the arithmetic looks favourable to the BJP, the fact that the four independent legislators are from the Congress makes the run up to the formation of the government very interesting.

Two independent candidates, Varthur Prakash and Narendra Swamy, have met Congress leader Siddaramaiah and are seeking his advice. The two candidates are staunch followers of Siddaramaiah and are expected to follow what he has to say.

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Yeedyurappa's residence, where the meeting party meeting was held, wore a festive look and was decorated with flowers. Sweets were distributed to everyone present. Leaders and party workers had gathered from all corners of the state. Some even intend to stay back until the new BJP government is sworn in.