Supporters of outgoing Karnataka chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, including some MLAs, on Sunday demanded that the BJP central leadership make him the chief of the state unit of the party.
As Gowda arrived here from New Delhi where he was asked by the central leadership to quit yielding to the demand of former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, his supporters thronged the airport and raised slogans hailing him.
They said at least 30 BJP MLAs would meet senior leaders Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh, who would arrive here tomorrow to oversee the election of Jagadish Shettar as the BJP legislature party leader, and take up their demand that Gowda be made the party's state unit chief.
Gowda supporters said he was capable of leading the BJP as he had held the post in the past.
Their demand comes in the wake of Vokkaliga community expressing dissatisfaction over BJP's decision to replace Gowda with Rural Development Minister Jagadish Shettar.