Eye on Assembly polls,BJP may pick Gowda as state chief

With the party having decided to contest the Assembly elections under the leadership of CM Jagadish Shettar,who belongs to the influential Lingayat community,the BJP leadership is looking to woo the Vokkaliga community by picking Gowda as state party chief.

At the moment,Gowda appears to be the frontrunner for the post of state unit chief, said a party functionary.

During the last Assembly elections which the BJP won,B S Yeddyurappa,a Lingayat,was the partys CM candidate,while Gowda,a Vokkaliga,was the partys state unit chief.

With Yeddyurappa out of the party,the BJP seems to be trying to control the damage by keeping the Vokkaliga community in good humour. Gowda was removed unceremoniously from the Chief Ministers post last year under pressure from Yeddyurappa.

Senior party leader Arun Jaitley visited Bangalore over the weekend to forge a consensus on the partys state unit chief. Sources said a section of leaders considered loyal to party general secretary Ananth Kumar expressed reservations on the issue.

These sources said state Home Minister R Asoka could be considered for the post if there is no consensus on Gowda. In such a situation,the party leadership will have to appoint Gowda as a central office bearer,most likely as BJP general secretary.