DVS for Lingayat counter coup

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With the Sadananda Gowda government teetering on the brink, questions are being asked on whether the BJP can successfully resolve the crisis and save the government this time?

A section of party leaders feel the best way to do this is to break the overpowering influence the Lingayat bloc loyal to former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has on the state BJP and lure as many MLAs as possible to the Chief Minister’s camp to save the government.

As part of this strategy, MLAs loyal to the party including Appu Pattanashetty, Pratapgouda Patil and Veeranna Charantimath may be considered for cabinet berths in the vacancies created by the exit of BSY loyalists.There is a possibility of vacillating Lingayat MLAs in the BSY camp too being inducted to reduce their numbers. This will help the party split the BSY faction and in the process, the government may attain the numbers required to prove its majority on the floor of the House, said sources.

There are leaders who believe that some like Lingayat strongman Jagadish Shettar had not option but to resign due to the pressure exerted by Yeddyurappa, "Shettar was under pressure to prove his leadership qualities and was warned that otherwise, he would not have any MLAs on his side. So, he resigned but he is not keen on creating a crisis for the party. If the party succeeds in doing a balancing act, they may withdraw the resignations,” the sources added.

But what will happen if MLAs loyal to BSY resign from the Assembly in protest? “We don’t think they will go to that extent. But if they resign en masse, we have no option but to go for a change of leadership or consider dissolving the Assembly,” the sources explained.

Helpless Gadkari triggered revolt?

The BJP national president, Nitin Gadkari’s helplessness in raising the Karnataka leadership issue at the national core committee meeting on Thursday, seems to have triggered the latest revolt by loyalists of former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who have resigned from the state cabinet en masse.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a highly placed source in the BSY camp said: “Mr Yeddyurappa became restless when Mr Gadkari told him over phone that he could not raise the issue due to some ‘constraints’ at the core committee meeting.”

Immediately after this conversation, Mr Yeddyurappa convened a meeting of his own ‘core committee’, comprising of 10 ministers who unanimously arrived at a three-point formula to exert pressure on the central leadership.

“As per this formula, the ministers were to resign on Friday, which has happened. Secondly, legislators loyal to BSY will follow suit in a day or two if central leaders do not give in to their demand for change of leadership. Lastly, Mr Yeddyurappa himself will resign from the party if the assurances given by central leaders are not satisfactory enough,” the source explained.