Union minister Pralhad Joshi has denied laying claim to the chief ministership if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins power in Karnataka, instead says that he wishes to continue working in the Centre under prime minister Narendra Modi.
“No. Absolutely no… I don’t aspire to be CM as I wish to continue to work directly under Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the central level,” the minister who represents Karnataka’s Dharwad constituency in Lok Sabha told PTI news agency.
Joshi, the union minister of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines said that Modi’s stint as Prime Minister would be recorded in gold letters when India’s history is written in the future. He had many opportunities as Parliamentary Affairs Minister, he said, citing the period when Article 370 of the Constitution was repealed.
“So long as I have the blessings of God, people and the Prime Minister, I wish to remain there (at the central level under Modi)”, the four-time MP added.
Although the BJP has declared that it will fight elections under incumbent CM Basavaraj Bommai, no announcements for the chief ministerial candidate have been made.
However, senior BJP leader and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed on Wednesday that Bommai will be re-elected as CM after the upcoming assembly elections. (Read here: Bommai will continue as Karnataka CM, says Fadnavis)
But not everyone in the party agrees. Sanjay Patil, the BJP’s Belagavi (Rural) district president and a former legislator, told HT, “The party’s high command, based on the circumstances, will select the chief minister, and it will be accepted by all.”
Voting for the 224-member Karnataka legislative assembly is slated for May 10, with results to be announced on May 13.