Gadkari may issue strict whip to party
The BJP chief, Mr Nitin Gadkari, forced to retain the tainted Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, will be reaching Bengaluru on Tuesday to issue a “warning to the entire state unit.” The BJP chief, who will meet the state office- bearers, ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, is expected to deliver a “strong message” and make it clear that “there would be no compromise on the issue of corruption,” sources said.
However, despite the proposed growling, the BJP chief is not expected to go for any change of guard in the state since the chief minister has made it amply clear that any move to oust him could “spell electoral disaster for the outfit.” The BJP’s move to appoint senior leader Arun Jaitley also indicated the party’s inclination to clean up the “Karnataka mess”. This would be Mr Gadkari’s second visit to the state, after he took charge of the BJP. Sources disclosed that though the BJP chief is “unable to sack the chief minister”, he is expected to seek the opinion of the state leaders and functionaries on the working of Mr Yeddyurappa. The Karnataka chief minister, facing charges of nepotism, favouritism and land scams. recently got a reprieve after the party failed to go ahead with a move for a change of guard. Mr Yeddyurappa indicated that any move to replace him would “upset the Lingayat community”, which forms the main chunk of the vote bank in the state. Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, the newly-appointed in-charge of the state, would also accompany him.
However, the BJP’s decision to bring in Mr Jaitley as something like a “super prabhari” of the state also indicated that the party is trying desperately to rein in the chief minister. There has been a tremendous loss of face for the BJP high command after it succumbed to the pressure tactics of the Karnataka chief minister.
Mr Jaitley, viewed as “a neutral, who does not belong to any camp (Yeddyruappa camp and Reddy brothers camp)”, is expected to keep a hawk’s eye on developments in the state. Also, Mr Jaitley has been brought in to prevent the factionalism being “created by central leaders Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kumar”. Both Ms Swaraj and Mr Kumar are reportedly anit-Yeddyurappa. Ms Swaraj, sources disclosed, is close to the Reddy brothers in the state.
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