Deriding the BJP for having three Chief Ministers within its four-year rule in Karnataka and two of them in just 11 months, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "BJP changes its Chief Ministers quicker than people change their clothes".
"The spectre of nepotism, corruption and unbashed communalism has characterised the last four years of the BJP rule in Karnataka. This has paralysed governance. We do hope that the people of Karnataka will take cognizance of all these developments," he said.
Slamming the Opposition party, AICC general secretary B K Hariprasad said the change of guard was a "victory of corruption" and held that this "cosmetic change" will not improve governance in the state.
Hariprasad alleged that a section of state BJP backed by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa blackmailed the party's central leadership in effecting this change and the latter buckled under pressure otherwise "corruption of many BJP central leaders would have been exposed".
NDA ally JD-U said BJP had to "sacrifice" Gowda as Karnataka Chief Minister to keep its flock together. He linked his exit with the upcoming Presidential election.
"Gowda would not have been sacrificed had the Presidential election not been there. BJP had to take the decision to keep its vote base intact and the flock together," JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav said.
BJP high command bowed to Lingayat leader Yeddyurappa in view of the Assembly elections due early next year and agreed to replace 59-year-old Gowda, a Vokkaliga leader, with Rural Development Minister Shettar, 56, who is a Lingayat.
Yadav said, "a number of decisions have to be taken in politics due to caste. Lingayat vote, which was earlier with the JD-S, has now come to BJP and they have to keep this vote base intact".