Virtually bullied into submission by graft-tainted Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the BJP leadership, after days of a tug-of-war, allowed him to continue in his post.
Under threat of the party being split and the so-called “TINA (there is no alternative) factor”, also with the panchayat elections knocking on the doors, the BJP, which triumphed in the Bihar polls, somewhat slipped on the moral high it had taken on the 2G scam. BJP president Nitin Gadkari tried to justify the decision by saying: “After consultations with senior party leaders and state leaders, the party has decided to continue with B.S. Yeddyurappa as chief minister of Karnataka.”
Somewhat admitting its helplessness in failing to persuade Mr Yeddyrurappa to quit, Mr Gadkari said: “With the panchayat and zila parishad elections around the corner, the party appeals to all its leaders and workers to work for the success of the party.” At the end of it, the Karnataka chief minister was flashing the victory sign.
“The state government has already constituted a commission of inquiry to look into all allegations of land allotment. The chief minister has proposed that to satisfy itself, the party should look into any allegation that is made against him. I shall, with adequate assistance, look into the same,” the BJP president said, maintaining that the chief minister “has also written to me giving his viewpoint”.
As the weakness of the BJP central leadership became evident by its failure to remove the CM, Mr Gadkari’s statement read: “An environment of uncertainty has been created in Karnataka during the past few days due to several allegations being made against the chief minister. Yeddyurappa has denied these allegations and offered his response both publicly and to the party leaders.”
Though Mr Yeddyurappa repeatedly denied that he was asked to quit by the central leadership, sources revealed that the central leadership had tried to persuade him to resign in the wake of mounting allegations of land allotment to his family members and receipt of money from the mining lobby.
A defiant Mr Yeddyurappa told the BJP top brass that with the upcoming panchayat polls, any move to remove him would dent the party’s sizeable Lingayat votebank. Mr Yeddyurappa is considered as the tallest Lingayat leader in the state. Moreover, his loyalists, including 17 party MPs from the state, also impressed the same to the party top brass.
After the party announced its decision, a confident Mr Yeddyurappa reiterated: “I was never asked to resign.” He said that senior party leaders, including Mr L.K. Advani, Ms Sushma Swaraj and Mr Arun Jaitley, gave him their “blessings”. He said: “[The] zila panchayat and taluka elections are around the corner. We will have to work towards that and ensure a resounding victory. We will concentrate on development.”
For the past one week, the BJP top brass held a series of meetings with both Mr Yeddyurappa and senior state unit leaders to resolve the crisis in the state.