Chief minister-designate Jagadish Shettar wants an amicable relationship with his party colleagues while hoping for a smooth term.
“I believe in team work. I want to take my colleagues and partymen into confidence and deliver the goods. I do not belong to any faction,” said chief minister-designate Jagadish Shettar.
Speaking to this correspondent on Sunday morning, Shettar said concentration on good governance would be his priority and he would treat the decision of the party high command to appoint him as the chief minister as an opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka and take the pro-people programmes launched by the BJP government to their logical end within the stipulated period.
Now that only 11 months are left for the next assembly elections we have the responsibility to fulfil the promises made to the people. We will concentrate on that and I am confident my colleagues in the cabinet will cooperate,” Shettar said.
When asked if he would continue with the same team of ministers, Shettar who is scheduled to take over from D V Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday said, he was comfortable working with all the MLAs and that he would be happy working with the team decided by party higher ups. He thanked the party high command and veteran leader L K Advani for reposing faith in him and choosing him as successor to D V Sadananda Gowda. “I will do my best to meet the aspirations of the leaders both at state and national level,” he said.
Several taluks in the state are facing drought and attention needs to be given to solving the problems of the people in these regions. There are other issues that need to be resolved. “I am sure, with the guidance from the seniors and cooperation from other colleagues, the BJP government would reestablish its image and go for elections with rejuvenated confidence,” Shettar asserted. Shettar is not a novice to politics and governance as he has a rich experience as the municipal councilor, MLA, leader of the Opposition, state president of BJP, Speaker of the Assembly and minister. Hailing from a family of politicians, Shettar was an active RSS and ABVP worker. His participation in movement launched by the Sangha Parivar to hoist the national flag at the controversial Idgah Maidan in Hubli catapulted him to limelight and made him a leader to reckon with.
The adage that politics make strange bedfellows has come true in case of Shettar. When the first ever BJP government was formed in South India in 2008 with B S Yeddyurappa leading the party to success in the assembly elections, everyone expected Shettar to be given a high profile portfolio in the cabinet. But he was not inducted into the cabinet to everyone’s surprise while Basavaraj Bommai (ho had once contested against Shettar in assembly elections in Hubli rural constituency only to join the BJP later) was given the plum water resources portfolio. Shettar was forced to accept the post of Assembly Speaker.
It was the Reddy brothers who rallied behind Shettar against B S Yeddyurappa and ensured he was back in the cabinet.
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When Yeddyurappa had to resign as chief minister, the party and RSS wanted Shettar to succeed him. But Yeddyurappa scuttled the move by ensuring his nominee D V Sadananda Gowda was installed. Ironically, it was Yeddyurappa who later sought the ouster of Sadanand Gowda in favour of Shettar to lead the government.
As the news of BJP national president Nitin Gadkari announcing Shettar as the next chief minister was beamed on electronic media there was jubilation in the BJP camp in Dharwad.