New Delhi: Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs have begun casting secret ballots to choose the next chief minister of the state. The choice is between Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's man - DV Sadananda Gowda, senior Lingayat leader and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar and Law, Justice and Human Rights, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislature Minister S Sureshkumar, who is a dark horse and is being seen as a compromise candidate.
The decision to elect Yeddyurappa's replacement through a secret ballot was taken after the BJP legislative party failed to arrive at a consensus choice for the post. Top BJP leaders Arun Jaitely, Venkaiah Naidu and Rajnath Singh are in Bangalore to oversee the election of the new chief minister.
While Gowda, a former state BJP chief, has been a two-time MLA and is two-time MP of the Lok Sabha, he has never been a minister. Shettar on the other hand brings in long administrative experience, is a four-time MLA from Dharwad and has been leader of the opposition as well as state party chief.
The secret ballot will also test the charisma of Yeddyurappa who till now has enjoyed the support of a majority of the BJP MLAs. It will also reveal the grip of the different contenders over the MLAs.
Yeddyurappa was forced to quit after Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde in a report came down heavily on the state government and the Chief Minister in the illegal mining case.
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