New Delhi, July 7 (IANS): Bowing to pressure from BS Yeddyurappa, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today chose Karnataka's Rural Development Minister Jagadish Shettar to replace Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda.
The decision was taken at the BJP's core committee meeting here, according to BJP sources. But an announcement is expected only after Gowda meets party president Nitin Gadkari and senior leader LK Advani.
The change in the leadership of the BJP government in Karnataka, the second since the party came to power in 2008, comes after Yeddyurappa, the former chief minister, brought pressure on the party to get Gowda replaced with Shettar.
After the core committee meet, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said Gowda will meet the party leaders in the evening here after which a formal announcement would be made.
Yeddyurappa had to quit as chief minister July last year after being indicted by the state Lokayukta over a mining scandal and other corruption charges. Gowda was Yeddyurappa's choice then to replace him.
But after the Karnataka High Court struck down the Lokayukta report with respect to its indictment of Yeddyurappa, he had stepped up efforts to get back as the chief minister.
Gowda, who fell out with Yeddyurappa, wanted the central leadership not to take any decision on removing him as chief minister in haste and contended that he had put in his best to give a corruption-free government.
