Will continue as CM till High Command wants,says Yediyurappa

Breaking his silence over the rumours of a leadership change in Karnataka, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has said he will continue in the top post as long as the BJP high command has confidence in him and he had no confusion about it. The Chief Minister also said, he won't agree that there was no alternate leader to replace him in the state BJP. Talking to newsmen in Bangaluru on Sunday, he said "The day they will say they don't want me, I will resign and work day and night for the development of the state,"

This is possibly the first time that the 78-year old Lingayat strongman has spoken in detail on the issue of leadership change and regarding an alternate leader to replace him in the state BJP, ever since speculations began in this regard. However, state BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel and Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi had ruled out leadership change and had said that  Yediyurappa will complete the term. Earlier too there has been intense speculation in some quarters that the BJP high command is mulling leadership change in Karnataka in the days to come considering  Yediyurappa's advancing age.