Coastal legislators throw their weight behind CM

The legislators from the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada indirectly extended support to Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, by keeping off the meeting at Yeddyurappa’s house on Thursday.

The BJP and RSS have a strong base in these two districts, besides the Malnad district of Chikmagalur.

The MLAs, MLCs and MPs of the coastal districts kept off the meeting.

The stated reason was that either they were attending the Mangalore University convocation or making preparations for the Udupi-Chikmagalur byelection.

The legislators from the coastal districts are learnt to have decided not to openly identify with Yeddyurappa, who is spearheading the ‘oust Gowda campaign’. Gowda is a native of Puttur.  

The chief minister has been very loyal to the party and the Sangh, which still wields considerable influence in these districts.

However, Chikmagalur MLA C T Ravi and K Lakshminarayana of Baindur took part in the meeting.

The party has 13 MLAs and three MLCs from the three districts.

Ravi criticised the pressure tactics adopted by Yeddyurappa to create instability, it is said.

Jarkiholi team absent

A group of party legislators led by Minister Balachandra Jarkiholi too kept off the meeting. Jharkiholi and eight other MLAs are learnt to have held a parallel meeting at a hotel and decided not to attend Yeddyurappa’s meeting.

Prominent members of the group are Ministers Shivanagouda Naik, Anand Asnotikar and former minister S K Bellubbi.

Except for Anand Singh, none of the party MLAs from Bellary turned up at the meeting.
Interestingly, former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, who is accused in a land scam, attended the meeting. He used to be a loyalist of Yeddyurappa.

For the first time after many months, he was seen with his usual attire of kurta and white fur cap.