56-year-old Shettar, a Lingayat leader backed by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, will be sworn-in as the the new Chief Minister by Governor H R Bhardwaj at the Raj Bhawan here tomorrow in the third change of guard in the BJP-ruled state in four years.
A day after Shettar was formally elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party after an ugly show of factionalism marked by deep caste polarisation, Gowda drove to Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation to the Governor.
Shettar, who will have more or less the same tenure as his predecessor with Assembly elections due in May next year, staked his claim to form the government which was accepted by the Governor who appointed him as Chief Minister.
Gowda's resignation was, however, not without an element of drama as his vociferous supporters tried in vain to physically prevent him at his residence from proceeding to the Raj Bhavan where also they enacted a smiliar scene. Police used force to evict them.
BJP is counting heavily on the Lingayat community as its main vote base for the Assembly polls.
Intense lobbying is on by several Ministers to retain their position, and aspirants seeking berths as senior party leaders Rajnath Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan, in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka, took stock of the situation.
The first-ever BJP Government in the South has witnessed uncertainty in the last 11 months with party strongman in the state Yeddyurappa not letting Gowda, his choice then, to settle down.
Piling up pressure, Yeddyurappa finally had his way with the BJP central leadership yielding to his demand to replace Gowda with Shettar.(MORE)
