Karnataka polls 2023: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to lead BJP in election, says senior party leader

The BJP has affirmed that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai would lead the party into the Karnataka assembly elections in 2023, putting an end to rumours of a leadership transition in the state.

Arun Singh, who is in head of the BJP in Karnataka, has blamed senior Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and Siddaaramaiah for sparking the rumours of a leadership change.

The announcement follows rumours from the Delhi BJP that Karnataka’s current chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, would remain in office till the next assembly election.

“There is no change of guard (in Karnataka) and the entire issue was created by DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah because they don’t have an issue,” he said.

“One must remember that Mr Bommai was selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after consulting with BS Yediyurappa and the RSS (BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh),” a senior BJP leader in Delhi had said.