Senior BJP leaders from Karnataka, including Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and state president Sadananda Gowda, who were summoned by the party’s national president Rajnath Singh for an urgent pow-wow at Delhi on Tuesday, came back with a stern message that they should prepare themselves for every eventuality, including early elections.
Sources in the BJP said that most senior leaders -- except Mr Yediyurappa -- have moved from high optimism about Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy relinquishing power in favour of BJP, to lingering doubts about it ever happening, which they shared with the Central leaders. Mr Yediyurappa, on the other hand, believes that come October 3, he will occupy the CM’s gaddi as JD (S) will be “forced” to keep its word.
The two-hour-long meeting, which was attended by BJP’s central observer for Karnataka, Mr Yashwant Sinha among others, took stock of the recent developments including Mr Deve Gowda’s attempts to re-establish links with the Congress to form a new coalition government all over again.
Mr Gowda’s meeting with Union Minister M V Rajashekaran has caused unease in the BJP. Mr Gowda’s strategy appears to be to convince Congress high command to join hands with the JD (S) with Mr Rajashekaran as the chief minister. As Mr Rajashekaran is a senior Lingayat leader, it would help the JD (S) supremo to effectively blunt the BJP’s campaign that by ignoring Mr Yediyurappa’s legitimate claim, the Lingayat community would be denied of chief ministership.
The senior leaders of BJP also discussed the possibility of Congress extending outside support to the Kumaraswamy government without actually participating in it, just to prevent the BJP from coming to power and also to meet halfway its own leaders’ demand not to do any business with Mr Gowda. It would give Congress the leverage to decide on the timing of the election without “spoiling” its image.
Aggrieved party
The BJP believes that such an arrangement would not continue for long and being the “aggrieved party”, it would be able to ride a sympathy wave and approach the electorate seeking a clear mandate.
But, considering that there is a good 22 months left, it is also apprehensive about the JD (S) and Congress firming up an alliance and offering good governance over the reminder of the life of this Assembly before going for polls. That would totally negate BJP’s badge of injured innocence and perhaps even allow the Congress and JD (S) fight the elections as allies, leaving the BJP completely in the cold.
Though the Central leadership of BJP has for the moment decided to adopt a wait and watch approach, it is closely monitering the situation. A senior leader said the party had not ruled out the possibility of a “pre-emptive strike” of withdrawing from the government before the October 3 deadline.
As the onus of transferring
power is on Mr Kumaraswamy, some leaders, however, prefer the JD (S) to make the first move so that the BJP can go before the voters as a
“martyr.”
Mr Yashwant Sinha will be arriving in Bangalore in the second week of August for more intense discussions and give a final shape to the future course of action.