BJP president Amit Shah held consultation with party leaders amid indications that B S Yedyurappa may be its chief ministerial choice in Karnataka after the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government fell on Tuesday.
Asked about its choice for the top post in the state, a party leader said Yeddyurappa, who is seen as the spearhead behind the drive to topple the Congress-JD(S) government, is an "obvious" contender but added that the top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, will take a call on the matter.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who is from Karnataka, said Yeddyurappa is the BJP's natural choice for the job but the national leadership will take the final call.
The party will stake claim to form the next government, he added.
Reacting to fall of the Kumaraswamy government, senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said, "At last truth has prevailed and Karnataka will have the popular BJP government. Power hungry Congress & JDS tried their best to hang on to power through all undemocratic means."