Jagadish Shettar is new BJP legislature party leader in Karnataka

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka Chief Minister JagadishShettar was on Tuesday unanimously elected leader of the legislature party of BJP, which suffered an ignominious defeat in the recent state Assembly polls losing power to Congress.

BJP had projected Shettar as its chief ministerial candidate in the elections keeping an eye on the Lingayat community vote base but it was dented by former party strongman B S Yeddyurappa, also from the same caste.

Former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka was chosen the deputy leader, state BJP spokesman Ayanur Manjunath told reporters after a meeting of the BJP Legislature party, preceded by a meeting of MLCs and MPs to take stock of the electoral performance.

Former BJP President Nitin Gadkari addressed the legislators at the "introspection" session.

In the Legislative Council, former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda is the leader and K B Shanappa his deputy, Manjunath said.

He said Congress had "fired from the shoulders" of Yeddyurappa against BJP. Yeddyurappa's Karnataka Janatha Paksha had split the votes garnering about 10 per cent.

Manjunath said Yeddyurappa's single goal of "finishing" BJP showed "bankruptcy" of his political thinking.

He said new Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had shown his "hasty tendency" by announcing a bonanza of schemes costing Rs 4,409 crore when the ministry had not been constituted. "It would amount to a decision of an individual, not of the cabinet", he said.

Manjunath said the BJP would strongly fight both inside and outside the legislature if the new government tried to reverse the pro-people programmes of its rule.