Praja Pragati Ranga may join hands with Yeddyurappa's new party

Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who has begun the exercise of forming his own party, is exploring the possibility of having a pre-poll alliance with the Praja Pragati Ranga (PPR), a new political front in the State.

PPR is an umbrella body of nearly 16 organisations including a couple of political parties, and they mainly advocate the welfare of minorities, backward classes and scheduled castes/tribes.

It includes Rajya Raitha Sangha headed by Kodihalli Chandrashekar, DSS, RPI, Samata Sainik Dal, BSP, Social Democratic Party of India, the Karnataka unit of the Samajwadi Party, Lok Jan Shakti, Vatal Paksha, a party floated by Dr Chandrashekar Patil, among others.

Kodihalli Chandrashekar told Deccan Herald that he and leaders of some of the constituents of the Front had met Yeddyurappa recently.

“We are for a pre-poll alliance with the party to be floated by Yeddyurappa. As long as the party remains secular, we do not have any problem in fighting the next Assembly elections together. We would like to have seat sharing arrangements with Yeddyurappa’s party,” he said. 

Dr M P Nadagouda, JD(U) State president, said his party too had an invitation to join the Front. But he is yet to decide in this regard. “The Front intends to develop on the lines of NDA. But, Yeddyurappa is yet to quit the BJP. What if the BJP decides retain him by meeting his demands?” he said.

So far State BJP president K S Eshwarappa and Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar have not commented on Yeddyurappa’s utterances against the party in public.

Meetings

Yeddyurappa, on Saturday, held meetings with BJP district level leaders of five Hyderabad Karnataka districts — Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur, Koppal and Yadgir — to discuss his plans to float a new party.

He will continue to meet leaders of various districts for the next one week at his residence in Bangalore. BJP leader Dhananjay Kumar, MLCs M D Lakshminarayan and Lehar Singh were present for the meeting. Ministers Shobha Karandlaje and Sunil Valyapure and G S Basavaraj, BJP MP from Tumkur, too made it to the meeting for a short time.

Basavaraj said, “Yeddyurappa is firm on quitting the party by December-end. But, by that time, things may change in the party in Delhi. If Narendra Modi emerges as the top man, the party’s equation with Yeddyurappa may also change for the better.”

BSY’s warning

Yeddyurappa has cautioned that the present government will not survive if his supporters, some of whom are ministers in the Shettar cabinet, are troubled by the party.
“I will not destabilise the government. But if my supporters are troubled, this government will not continue,” he warned.

He reiterated that he would resign from the primary membership of the party as well as an MLA by the end of December, and then float a new party.