Will complete full term, says Karnataka CM Yediyurappa

Bengaluru, Oct 30: As the BJP government in Karnataka led by him is all set to complete 100 days in office on November 2, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday expressed confidence about completing his full term.

Rejecting suggestions that the party high command was trying to control him, the chief minister said he has been given a "free hand". "How I have run the administration in 100 days, what all issues I have faced, you know better than me. It isthe duty of the chief minister and a leader to steer the administration ahead amid all this. I'm doing my duty. I'm trying to take everyone together, whether it is ruling side oropposition," Yediyurappa told reporters.

Expressing confidence that he will be hundred per centsuccessful in his efforts, he said, "I will complete my remaining three-and-half-year term. I'm confident about it. I can only tell you that central leaders have confidence in me, that is the reason I have been made the chiefminister of this state." He said he was confident that he would get complete cooperation from party MPs, MLAs and workers to complete the term.

Yediyurappa was responding to a question about his 100days in power not being a "happy one" with natural calamities and trouble within the party besides the party high command trying to "control him", during a meet-the-press organised by the Press Club Of Bengaluru and Reporters Guild.

Yediyurappa was sworn in as chief minister for the fourth time on July 26, three days after thecollapse of the Congress-JD(S) government with the defeat of the motion of confidence moved by the then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in the assembly by 99-105 votes. There has been several claims by opposition and sections of the media about Yediyurappa not completing his full term in office citing his age as the reason and also speculation about the collapse of the governemnt and possibility of mid-term polls in the state. Rejecting reports of attempts by the party leadershipto control him, citing cabinet expansion among other things as example, where the BJP high command allegedly had acomplete say, Yediyurappa said he has been given a "free hand." "Ours is a national party we have to work under certain limitations that is the expectation of our centralleadership. But, our central leaders have not uttered even a word of opposition to decisions I have taken. I have beengiven a free hand..There has been no obstruction so far fromthe cabinet or any other matter," he said.

The challenge before his administrationis the coming bypolls to 15 assembly constituencies inthe state, Yediyurappa said. "We will have to win at least 12-13 seats,we will try to win all the 15 seats, that is the major challenge ahead of us.Along with that we will have to address the needs ofthe people affected by floods," he said.

Bypolls to 15 of 17 seats represented bydisqualified MLAs, whose resignation and absence from the trust vote led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government,and made way for the BJP to come to power, will be held onDecember 5.

The then Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar had disqualified them as MLAs, ruling that those disqualified, cease to be MLAs with immediate effect till the expiry of the 15th assembly (in2023), which they have challenged in the Supreme Court, and the matter is currently being heard by the top Court.

On inducting Congress-JD(S)disqualified MLAs into the party and giving them ticket anddiscontent within the party against it, Yediyurappa said "We have not taken any decision; it will all depend onwhat the party central leadership decides."

"Supreme Court is likely to decide on the petition of disqualified MLAs on November 4 or 5, after that we will decide," he said. He claimed that all sections of people were withhim. "...that's the reason I could become Chief Minister." The BJP needs to win at least six seats in the bypolls to 15 constituencies to remain in a majority in the 224-member assembly, which will still have two vacant seats-- Maski and R R Nagar.