Karnataka: Onus of winning elections once again on B S Yediyurappa

B S Yediyurappa, Karnataka Chief Minister is once again under heavy pressure from the central party high command to win most of the 15 Assembly bye-elections slated to be held on 05 December.

image source: PTI

If you were to take cognisance of the situation on ground in most of these 15 Assembly constituencies then the victory path to the ruling saffron party is no way full of roses. On the other hand one can foresee any number of thorns patches all along!

But the intriguing hazard that continues to remain for BS Yediyurappa is that the onus of winning the bye-elections is let solely on the shoulders of the only state mass leader just like the previous general elections.

The ruling party insiders also have their own theories to put forth for such a predicament to the grand old man of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They claim: He was given a free hand to engineer “Operation Lotus” to bring back the party to the treasury benches and now the challenge of ensuring the victory of these fence sitters is also entrusted upon him.Interestingly after the successful launch of “Operation Lotus” wooing 14 Indian National Congress (INC) and three Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) Members of Legislative Assembly to quit their positions paved way for the collapse of the JD-S led Congress supported coalition government.But in spite of seven futile attempts before and its tremendous success during the eighth time didn’t make any significant change in the attitude of the BJP high command towards the beleaguered septuagenarian leader becoming chief minister for the fourth time.

No one worth mentioning in the party or NDA government in the centre made it for the swearing in ceremony. Even Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state preferred to stay away from the event.

B S Yediyurappa, as he had intended waging a relentless battle somehow managed to strive and succeed in bringing back a BJP government in the state. But during the same process he was also compelled to bow down, bend and also crawl like never before! Although the party came to the driver’s seat the captain struggled to get a go ahead for cabinet formation. It took 26 days for him to expand the single member ministry. Once the cabinet was expanded it took four more days for allocation of portfolios.

The ministries were announced but along with the departments also came triple riders in the form of three Deputy Chief Ministers, an unprecedented history, when he had sought only for one post of DCM! After becoming the CM B S Yediyurappa was nursing of a game plan of making his own protégé as his successor to the position of party’s state president post. Even before he could propose anyone Nalin Kumar Kateel, Mangaluru MP was appointed the new state BJP president snubbing the new chief minister.

On the stage of taking over from the CM as new state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel showered praises for his predecessor and assured the audience of taking the party forward under his stewardship.The first thing he did after assuming office was to pack off all the office staff appointed by the previous state president. Then he disowned a committee of city BJP legislators formed by the CM to decide on the new Brahut Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike(BBMP) Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Nalin Kumar Kateel is a known controversial vocal party face in the coastal belt comprising of South Canara (Mangaluru) and Udupi districts but not to the neighboring North Canara (Karwar) coastal district.To prove this accusation true the new party president made a series of faux passes making him and the party a mockery in public and political debates! Despite such public rebuking B S Yediyurappa preferred to remain cool in the open. Of late it has also become inevitable for him to keep swallowing all unsavory remarks, utterances and statements in public.

Pralhad Joshi, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister representing Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency in the state when quizzed about financial aid to take up relief measures for the rehabilitation of people affected by floodwaters havoc, he had shot back: The state government hasn’t sent any memorandum seeking funds so far!

As a lone member cabinet chief minister B S Yediyurappa paid flying visits to most of the flood affected areas consoling the victims assuring all possible help to rehabilitate them. But the help from central government kept on getting postponed.

Siddaramaiah, former chief minister and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader kept on harping: B S Yediyurappa is the weakest chief minister the state has ever seen. He has failed to get any financial aid from the central government and is not even getting any appointment to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi for seeking relief to the state! At the same juncture Tejasvi Surya, the first time young MP from Bengaluru South fired another salvo to the already confused state of affairs: There is no requirement of central financial aid and the state government can manage it!

Embarrassments of these types keep happening to the once roaring tiger known for his fierce attacks on opponents. To that extent the party high command has been successful in compelling him mellow down from his earlier stance of ever angry person! The campaign for bye-elections to the 15 constituencies has taken by a storm with no hint so far of any central leaders making it for the BJP’s campaigning in the state.

Generally bye-elections are not of much significance when the ruling party enjoys comfortable majority but it is altogether a different proposition in the state. These bye-elections have been necessitated to favor the ruling party to gain the required majority! So unlike usual bye-elections these 15 bye-polls have been taken too seriously by B S Yediyurappa more than anyone else. He has been promising repeatedly that all the disqualified Congress-JD-S legislators turned BJP candidates will be made ministers within 24 hours of their victory.

B S Yediyurappa, known for political struggles throughout his political life is perhaps facing the mother of all battles now. In spite of managing a smooth sail to the ruling party, the paradoxical rumour making rounds within the party circles is whether B S Yediyurappa continues to remain a chief minister after the bye-poll results?

-Manohar Yadavatti