The sudden outburst of former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa on Friday which caught both BJP’s national leaders and a few ministers loyal to him off-guard was a direct result of the BJP top brass wooing his close aides in a bid to persuade them to abandon and isolate the Karnataka strongman. Soon after his scathing attack on party national president, Nitin Gadkari as well as senior leader L.K. Advani and general secretary, Ananth Kumar, the Central leadership reportedly rushed to contact his supporters, requesting them to keep him calm till the party took a final call on the appointment of the state BJP president.
The party’s top leadership was apparently taken by surprise as Mr Yeddyurappa came out guns blazing on Friday even as it was working to clip his wings by dividing his loyalists, say sources. Water resources minister, Basavaraj Bommai and industries minister, Murgesh Nirani, who were among his most staunch supporters, were reportedly contacted recently in an attempt to undercut the BSY camp.
The two ministers reportedly assured Mr Gadkari and Mr Dharmendra Pradhan, who is in-charge of Karnataka affairs, that Mr Yeddyurappa was not as strong as was being made out to be, and he would not be able to muster the support of even 20 MLAs if the ministers he relied on, refused to go with him.
They also reportedly planned to take a delegation on his behalf to Delhi to keep him in good humour. Mr Bommai who called a meeting at Mr Udasi’s house on Thursday to discuss the strategy, decided on heading the delegation to Delhi. But sensing something amiss, Mr Yeddyurappa put a stop to the Delhi trip, according to sources.
Based on the assurance of ministers from his group that he posed no immediate threat to the party, the central leadership apparently ignored the Lingayat strongman in its discussions on who should be appointed state unit president and received a rude jolt when he decided not to attend the party’s national executive and council meetings. But it was still unprepared for his open attack on senior leaders, sources add.