BSY quits, backs Sadananda Gowda as successor

Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, indicted by the lokayukta in illegal mining scam, resigned today ending three days of defiance and favoured sitting Lok Sabha MP DV Sadananda Gowda as his successor.

Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, indicted by the lokayukta in illegal mining scam, resigned on Sunday ending three days of defiance and favoured sitting Lok Sabha MP DV Sadananda Gowda as his successor.

File-photo-Former-Karnataka-chief-minister-BS-Yeddyurappa

After giving anxious moments to party central leadership, which had asked him to step down immediately, 68-year-old Yedyurappa submitted his resignation to governor HR Bhardwaj amid high drama and claimed he was accused "unfairly" on illegal mining issue.

Yeddyurappa walked the two-km-long distance from his Race Course residence to Raj Bhavan along with over 60 MLAs and ministers loyal to him to submit his one-line resignation letter to the governor who immediately accepted it.

"We have proposed the name of DV Sadananda Gowda as chief ministerial candidate," Yeddyurappa told reporters outside Raj Bhavan, coming out publicly on his choice of successor over which he had locked horns with the party top brass.

Gowda, 58, belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community and fully backed by Yeddyurappa who wants to make sure that his hold over the party and the government remains strong.

"I believed from the beginning that no sacrifice is above the party. Therefore, bowing to the directive of the party seniors, I have stepped down from the chief minister's post without any hesitation", Yeddyurappa, who described himself as the "disciplined soldier" of the party, said.

Shortly after submitting his resignation, Yeddyurappa went into a huddle with senior party leader Arun Jaitley to decide on the successor ahead of a legislature party meeting to elect a new leader.