If indicted,youll have to go,BJP tells Yeddyurappa

And,in case it manages to return to power,Yeddyurappa would naturally stake claim for the Chief Ministers post and the party would be faced with a similar situation then.

Sources said the party is hopeful of convincing Yeddyurappa to step down and it has already begun discussing the names of his possible successor. Sources close to Yeddyurappa said if at all he agrees to resign,he would not like to have another Lingayat leader assuming the Chief Ministers post as it could in the long run erode his standing as the tallest Lingayat leader in Karnataka.

Jagdish Shetter,a known detractor of Yeddyurappa,has always been in the race for the Chief Ministers post. Interestingly,Yeddyurappa is also said to be not keen on handing over the mantle to his confidante Shobha Karandlaje for the simple reason that she is said to be a good administrator who could emerge as a threat in the future.

In such a situation,among the frontrunners for the post include Higher Education Minister V S Acharya and Law Minister Suresh Kumar. The party leadership also is not ruling out the possibility of Yeddyurappa suggesting his sons name as his successor. A senior leader told The Indian Express that there is little chance of the party accepting such a proposal.

The BJP leadership discussed the issue on Tuesday and sources said the party top brass would meet on Wednesday after Hegde submits his report to take a final call.

Meanwhile,as the time draws for Hegde to place his final report,the big question troubling all those set to be indicted by the report,including Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers of Bellary,is whether the Lokayukta will recommend action against them for criminal misconduct as defined by Section 13 i d of the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988.

In December 2008 when Hegde had presented his first report on illegal mining,he toyed with the idea of recommending action for criminal misconduct against former CM N Dharam Singh and 13 government officials. In the end,in the absence of solid evidence of quid pro quo for facilitating illegalities,he left the option to the state government and only recommended disciplinary action and recovery of losses.

Hegde has so far been non-committal about what his recommendations to the government will be in terms of action against the indicted persons. It is an interesting question but revealing whether action under Section 13 i of the Prevention of Corruption Act will be recommended in the report is as good as revealing the report. I am not going to say anything, he said on Tuesday when asked about his recommendations.

Justice Shivaraj Patil is new Lokayukta

With incumbent Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegdes tenure scheduled to end on August 2,shortly after he submits the final report on illegal mining,the BJP government in the state,following consultations with the Opposition and the High Court Chief Justice,has decided to appoint former Supreme Court judge Justice Shivaraj V Patil as the new Lokayukta of Karnataka. The appointment was made by Governor H R Bhardwaj on the advice of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.