BY BOSCO CELESTINE
TIA special report
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NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has every reason to rejoice over its splendid performance riding on the piggy-back on Nitish Kumar’s development plank. But what it gained politically in the northern State of Bihar, it has lost it in Karnataka in the South.
The Party’s top leadership handling political developments in the face of defiant Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on the corruption charges levelled against him, has undermined its authority.
The questioned being asked why did the BJP when it was asked to bend; it crawled before the southern chieftain. Mr Yedurappa, on Sunday, was summoned to appear before the Party leadership for consultations but he did not turn up.
Instead, Yeddyurappa chose to keep Prime Minister’s company on a special flight to Delhi after Dr Manmohan Singh participated in the 85th birthday celebrations of Sri Satya Sai baba.
According to BJP MLC Lehar Singhm a close associate of CM, Yeddyurappa, under tremendous pressure from all and sundry unveiled a blue print for a grand alliance in Karnataka before Prime minister in the special aircraft.
According to a calculated plant in the media, Yeddyurappa informed the PM, he was ready to break free from the shackles of BJP and float a new party with a sizable chunk of MLAs who are on his pay-roll. The JD-S can also join the Alliance once it settled down.
It seems the Prime Minister listened and informed Yeddyurappa that this plan would be conveyed to Sonia Gandhi.
On arrival in Delhi, the plan was also leaked to BJP leadership. BJP panicked.
Apart from this episode, he threatened to release a list of top leaders of the BJP who are the beneficiaries of the Mining Mafia-the Bellary brothers. In fact, BJP’ 2009 Lok Sabha campaign came from Reddy brothers.
BJP realised that the game was up. It was then decided that Yeddyurappa has to be kept in the Party even at the cost of losing its moral authority to attack the Congress on the issue of corruption.
Yeddyurappa who learnt the art of mobilisation from the RSS, gathered together all the Members of Parliament belonging to his Party from Karnataka to mount pressure on the leadership that Yeddyurappa is the only leader in the State who can keep the Saffron banner flying in the State.
The MPs also made it clear that it would be politically suicide if Yeddyurappa is removed at a juncture when there is Zilla Parishad and Taluk Panchayats elections are to be held in the next few weeks.
What makes Yeddyurappa so formidable? He belongs to the Lingayat Community believed to be the Party’s major supporter. The Community constitutes about 17 percent of States 50 million populations and Yeddyurappa is acknowledged as its undisputed leader.
Yedurappa’s journey from farming to Chief Ministership is a fascinating story.
According to a profile published in the ‘Hindu’ the 64-years old leader is credited with being the architect behind installing the first BJP_led government in South India, began his political career as an active member of the RSS.
Learning initial steps of leadership, development of mass base and human resource management from the RSS , he went on to these pragmatic lessons in action when he decided to lead various mass movement in the State, highlighting the problems faced by the landless farmers and bonded labourers.
His forte in taking up peoples issues, was amply illustrated when he spearheaded a team of 17,00 bonded labourers to Shimoga Deputy Commissioners Office demanding the release and rehabilitation of such labourers.