CT Ravi likely to be BJP's President in Karnataka

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

BJP is expected to name a new chief for its Karnataka unit in the next few days to lift the morale of workers which has hit a low after the party suffered a massive defeat in the May 10 assembly polls. The party is keen to finish this important task as the Lok Sabha polls are less than a year away, and the ruling Congress has become aggressive across the state after its stupendous electoral win, the party sources said.

There is a strong buzz that senior leader CT Ravi is tipped to take over from the Mangaluru MP Nalinkumar Kateel, who has completed about four years. The speculations were triggered after the party leadership dropped him from the national role that he played, in the Saturday's organisational revamp.

The names of junior agriculture minister Shobha Karandlaje and former deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan are also said to be in the reckoning for the party chief's post, party sources said. The leadership, the sources added, would want to complete the appointment of the state president as it will soon get preoccupied with the upcoming assembly polls in MP, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Mizoram.

In his chat with the media on Sunday, Ravi neither confirmed nor denied about his possible elevation, and said he had discharged all the responsibilities the party assigned since his days as booth president 35 years ago. The 56-year-old leader has remained as politically aggressive as he was before the polls.