JOIN USWith his game plan of getting himself reinstated as chief minister backfiring, former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa has hardly any option left before him.
Yeddyurappa, according to sources close to him, is scouting for an opportunity to get back the lost post or at least bag the party president’s post.
Firstly, he does not have the numbers to split the party. At a recent meeting, even his hardcore loyalists are understood to have told Yeddyurappa that the leadership issue has to be dealt with within the party forum and that they would not join him if he quits the party.
Even Yeddyurappa does not want to quit the BJP when the party is in power, for Sadananda Gowda would gain the upper hand in such circumstances. Power on their side, the Gowda camp would wean away his loyalists with the time tested political strategy of luring them with Cabinet berths, Yeddyurappa feels.
A legislator said Yeddyurappa is keen to create a neutral playground before he takes a decision to quit the BJP and float a new party - and that could be achieved by getting the Assembly dissolved. Even here, the former chief minister does not have numbers to achieve his goal. Though Yeddyurappa has around 30 loyalists, most of them are not ready to tender the resignation or quit the party at his behest.
Even if Yeddyurappa does the impossible and persuades 20-25 MLAs to resign, Gowda has the option of seeking the outside support of the JD(S) with 26 MLAs, and save his government.
With not many options before him, the former chief minister is trying to aggravate the crisis in the State BJP by sending confusing signals. Soon after his arrival from the Chintan Baitak, Yeddyurappa is understood to have called party State president K S Eshwarappa and stated that he had the support of 70 legislators.
This is the third time that Yeddyurappa has been snubbed by the party’s central leadership in his bid to regain the chief minister’s post in the last four months.
On the previous two occasion, Yeddyurappa had to return empty handed from New Delhi after raising the leadership issue with the central leadership.
In December last, senior party leader L K Advani even refused to give audience to Yeddyurappa.
BJP scared of Yeddyurappa: Cong
New Delhi, dhns: Alleging that the BJP high command is scared of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, the Congress said the people of Karnataka were suffering because of the infighting in the ruling party.
“The crisis shows that the BJP leadership, which had removed Yeddyurappa after much embarrassment, is afraid of him. On the one hand, BJP talks of fighting against corruption, while on the other, the president of the party calls Yeddyurappa a respected man, and terms Lokayukta report wrong,” Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters here.
Another Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said the people of Karnataka “are paying for the conflicts in the State BJP.”