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UP polls almost over, BJP focuses on Karnataka mess
Friday March 02, 2012 06:06:34 PM,
V.S. Karnic, IANS
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Bangalore: With the
Uttar Pradesh assembly polls ending Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata
Party's (BJP) attention now turns to Karnataka where the party's
maiden rule has been marked more by rebellion and scandals than
good governance.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari has summoned leaders of the warring
factions of the Karnataka unit to New Delhi for a meeting Saturday
to end the tussle to control the government and the party in the
state.
The meeting comes ahead of bypolls to the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok
Sabha seat March 18. Retaining it is of vital importance for the
continuation of Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda as he held the
seat.
The bypoll follows Gowda quitting the seat after becoming chief
minister Aug 4 last year succeeding B.S. Yeddyurappa who quit July
31 over corruption charges.
Gowda's stay is threatened by Yeddyurappa and his supporters who
continue to flex their muscles despite Gadkari ruling out
leadership change when he was here Feb 24.
Gadkari called Gowda, state unit chief K.S. Eshwarappa,
Yeddyurappa and others to come to Delhi Saturday for a meeting to
find a solution to end factional battles.
But a solution seems almost impossible given the desperation that
Yeddyurappa and his supporters in the state are exhibiting.
BJP central leaders, particularly party veteran L.K. Advani,
remain strongly opposed to reinstating Yeddyurappa or making him
state unit chief till he is cleared of corruption charges.
That will take years as there are around 10 cases of corruption
and illegal land deals against Yeddyurappa. All are still in the
trial stage.
There is also a possibility of the Supreme Court directing a
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into charges that he
took money from two companies to allow them to mine iron ore in
the state. The apex court ruling on the issue is expected any time
now.
Realising that legal battles will take years, Yeddyurappa, who
completed 69 years Feb 27, is painting Gowda and Gadkari black. He
has virtually called Gowda a back-stabber and Gadkari a man who
led him up the garden path.
"Gadkari told me that Gowda will be chief minister temporarily and
I will be reinstated within four or six months," Yeddyurappa said
Feb 27.
His supporters are also claiming that Gowda had promised to quit
after six months of taking over as chief minister to facilitate
Yeddyurappa's return.
The March 3 meeting in Delhi will be held in this backdrop of
intensifying bitterness between the rival factions, leaving
Gadkari and other BJP leaders little room for manoeuvring.
Expecting little from the Delhi meeting, Yeddyurappa's supporters
announced in Bangalore Thursday they will organise a public
meeting in Hubli, about 400 km from Bangalore, March 11 to
celebrate his birthday.
They plan to mobilise 100,000 people for the meeting to show to
Gowda and Gadkari the "strength and support" Yeddyurappa and his
faction enjoy in the state.
With no end in sight for the mess, BJP's rule in Karnataka may be
remembered for scandals in the first four years and suicidal
infighting in the fifth and last year as assembly polls are due
April-may 2013.
(V.S. Karnic
can be contacted at vs.karnic@ians.in)
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