Bangalore, July 28 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will Friday select a successor to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa though till late Thursday he had not obeyed the party directive to step down immediately.
The 68-year-old Yeddyurappa was told Thursday morning to resign immediately following Lokayukta N. Sanosh Hegde seeking his trial for graft in the huge illegal mining scam that has caused a loss of over Rs.16,000 crore to the state.
However, there was no indication from Yeddyurappa when he will quit as he kept himself busy meeting supporters through the day to firm up, as his loyalists told IANS, conditions on which he will leave the office.
The loyalists, requesting anonymity, said the chief minister wants to name a successor and have a major say in cabinet formation after he quits.
Thursday evening word spread that Yeddyurappa has sent his resignation to party president Nitin Gadkari but within minutes it was denied by ministers close to the chief minister.
The BJP camp was hub of activity with party in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan meeting groups of legislators to know their views ahead of a formal meeting of the state legislature party Friday to elect the new leader.
Former party president Rajnath Singh and senior leader Arun Jaitley will be the central party leadership observers for the meeting and will arrive Friday.
