Sadananda Gowda likely to be relected Karnataka BJP chief

New Delhi, Dec 12 (UNI) The BJP leadership today cleared the decks for organisational elections in Karnataka with an imminent renewed term for incumbent state BJP chief D V Sadananda Gowda.

A unanimous decision to hold elections on December 16 was arrived at after two days of consultative meetings between Karnataka leaders and BJP President Rajnath Singh.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, party General Secretary Ananth Kumar and senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu were also present at the meeting.

''The leadership have, however, cautioned against rushing to Delhi on the slightest pretext to pressurise the leaders,'' Mr Naidu told reporters without referring to the presence of a large number of MLAs in Delhi in the run up to the organisational elections.

BJP's Central Returning Officer O P Kohli have been asked to complete the electoral exercise by December 17, well before the BJP's National Executive and National Council meetings scheduled to be held at Lucknow.

Although no formal announcement has yet been made, sources said Mr Gowda, the Lok Sabha member, getting a renewed term is a mere formality as the leadership favoured his continuance as the party is poised to take up the Chief Ministership under the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition in the last 18 months of the Assembly's tenure.

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