Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday dismissed his meeting with a group of ‘disgruntled’ MLAs late Monday night as “a routine visit to discuss development works” even as talks spread within political circles of a rebellion brewing against Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
Also, an anonymous letter surfaced during the day, penned by those claiming to be Yediyurappa’s supporters, urging him to retire from electoral politics and become a ‘margadarshak’.
The letter, ahead of Yediyurappa’s 77th birthday on February 27, is said to be an indication of the growing factionalism within the BJP, especially among those unhappy over the current constitution of the Cabinet and the rise of Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra.
In the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Yediyurappa called out to eight-time MLA Umesh Katti, who is seen as the rebels’ poster boy. Katti and Yediyurappa were seen discussing when Shettar joined them. Yediyurappa then gestured at Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, another disgruntled MLA.
Shettar, a former chief minister, said there was no need to read too much into the meeting of MLAs. “Many MLAs come and meet me for various works and it is a continuous process. Four-five MLAs had come to discuss projects in their constituencies,” he said.
The MLAs visited Shettar around 9 pm on Monday, leading to reports of a coup in the making to oust Yediyurappa as chief minister. The legislators who visited Shettar included Katti, who is unhappy about not securing a Cabinet berth. Ministerial aspirants Murugesh Nirani, Arvind Bellad and Shankar Patil Munenakoppa were also there. Former minister C P Yogeeshwar and a former Yediyurappa aide were also at Shettar’s home.
The legislators dispersed soon after the media was alerted about the ‘visit’, even skipping dinner at Shettar’s residence. It is said that rumours of a rebel meeting were spread by a former Yediyurappa aide who is not on good terms with the chief minister now.
The anonymous letter, which went viral, claimed that Yediyurappa was not in the best of health. It also took a dig at the chief minister’s younger son Vijayendra over his growing influence in the administration, terming him “super CM” and “de facto CM”.
“It hurts when Yediyurappa — a leader of the masses — is considered as a weak, helpless and inactive CM due to his age-related physical inability,” the letter read.
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