The BJP Government in Karnataka, by all accounts, finds itself in choppy, if not turbulent, waters.
Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has declared war on the cash-rich and powerful ‘Reddy Brothers’ of Bellary, who, in turn, appear to be exerting to bring the Government down. The ‘Reddy Brothers’ virtually control all iron ore mining in Bellary and have similar ‘business interests’ in Andhra Pradesh.
The ‘Reddy Brothers’, Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy and his elder brother and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, have criticised Yeddyurappa for not being sufficiently alert to the woes of the victims of the recent floods. They have launched their own rehabilitation programme and propose to build 50,000 houses for the flood-affected people.
Yeddyurappa, apparently, demanded that they abandon their private project and contribute the money to the official rehabilitation programme. The ‘Reddy Brothers’ not only ignored the Chief Minister’s demand but also refused to invite him for the ‘bhoomi pujan’, apart from lashing out at him in public. They are being supported by Health Minister B Sreeramulu.
An incensed Yeddyurappa retaliated by transferring bureaucrats in the three Ministries and in Bellary who are believed to be close to the Ministers. He wants the party to take action against the three Ministers whom he wants sacked from the Government.
The ‘Reddy Brothers’ and Sreeramulu have retaliated by stoking further dissidence in the BJP legislature party; 15 ‘dissident’ MLAs have been flown out to Hyderabad where they have in put up in a hotel. Sreeramulu says five more will join them soon. The ‘dissident’ MLAs are incommunicado.
Meanwhile, Speaker Jagadish Shettar, a known Yeddyurappa-baiter, has begun flirting with the rebels. One story has it that the ‘Reddy Brothers’ want Shettar to be made Chief Minister. Another story doing the rounds is that Yeddyurappa, in an effort to win over Shettar, offered him the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, but that has been rejected.
Three questions arise:
a) Why did Yeddyurappa choose to precipitate a crisis at this point of time when there are enough fires burning in the BJP? To my mind, his reaction to the defiance of the ‘Reddy Brothers’ has been extremely churlish, if not cussed. He could have done without discovering merit in integrity for some more time.The BJP leadership’s incompetence apart, there’s a conspiracy theory which raises an interesting possibility. Apparently Jaganmohan Reddy, said to be close to the ‘Reddy Brothers’ (over-lapping ‘business interests’ are being cited) is involved in the effort to bring down the BJP Government. If he is able to do so, or so the story goes, he will claim the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister’s post as his trophy from the Congress high command.
b) How come the central leadership of the party was unaware of the unfolding crisis till it pushed the Government to the brink of losing majority? The crisis is by no means an overnight development. Does the answer lie in Dilli4 being clueless about what’s happening beyond south Delhi? Or was the situation allowed to drift because one member of the cabal that has converted the party into its fiefdom would like to see Yeddyurappa make an ignominious exit?
c) Who will the so-called national leadership of the BJP blame for the mess in which the party finds itself in Karnataka? Will it look for yet another scapegoat or will it, for a change, look into the mirror? A fish, as I have often said, begins to rot from its head.
The situation at the moment, as the cliché goes, is extremely fluid. Arun Jaitley is camping in Bangalore and has been speaking to various groups to find a solution. The RSS is also trying to broker peace among the feuding factions. Yeddyurappa, however, is recalcitrant, as are the ‘Reddy Brothers’ and fellow dissidents, though they have said that they will abide by the decision of the party ‘high command’.
If the crisis snowballs, the BJP will lose its Government in Karnataka where it has been in power for 18 months. The BJP has 117 MLAs in the 224-member Assembly. That majority could disappear if the ‘Reddy Brothers’ walk out with 20 MLAs. Some say if push comes to shove, the number could go up to 40, thus reducing the BJP’s strength to less than 80 MLAs.
There was great jubilation when the BJP won the Assembly election in Karnataka. It marked the party’s coming to power in a southern State for the first time. But coming to power is only half of the power game. The other half is the ability to retain power.
50 comments:
Kanchan is putting less and less efforts into his blog entries, which is a pity given his ability to generate biting/analytical copy - even if you disagree with his broader platform.
This blog entry is a classic example. Almost 80% of the content could be a cut&paste from news facts (something one can get at PTI). The rest 20% of the writeup takes the easy recourse of creating/quoting a bizarre rumor - bringing in Andhra congress. Blame the neighbor if your garden is unkempt.
Kanchan ji - more analysis please!
Baja pls go somewhere else and bajao ur BAJA. What anal-ysis u want ? He has written each and everything very clearly.
Now coming on to ur blog..see I won't be surprise if they play M.P like music chair game in Karnataka. Incompetent BJP and ice age RSS r not "cut" to rule. That is the image public is making of these folks and to be honest facts also corroborate it, being a rationalist I've also begun to feel like that. They simple don't know how to "rule"; I'm not talking abt kind of governance they provide. Running a shakha,party, giving speech is different thing, running a state, ministry is different thing. These barvi pass, BA pass netas r not..i mean I've not word to describe it.."made" to direct, to rule smart, intelligent IAS babus. BJP-RSS doesn't know how politics is being done. Gadhe or dhour hai ye log..mera inlogo se ab moh-bhang honey laga hai..perhaps inke voters ka bhi..only dilemma for voters like me is Cong soft attitude towards Islam and Christination of India. India is doomed anyway...
totally agree with Baja..this article was more of a newspaper report rather than giving us some more insight about the crisis.
@Anonymous: RSS is not an organization of 12 pass/BA pass unemployed people. It has people from all walks and professions of life. So claiming that they can't rule IAS babus is absurd. In any case, no other party has better people in terms of qualifications. But then at least RSS and BJP are more patriotic and disciplined than secularists and leftists.
BTW would someone please tell me who is DILLI4 ??
My guess is Jaitley, Swaraj, Rajnath, Naidu. Am i correct ??
@Anonymous: He has written everything clearly but he has added no "value" to essentially a news report. No need to get personal dude :-).
@OnTheMove: I wonder the same (identity of dilli4). I think Rajnath and Swaraj are in the grouping for sure. Jaitley, absolutely not - Kanchan is a fan of Jaitley (which makes sense, given AJ's proximity to NaMo)..
I guess AJ is one of DILLI4. wasn't he responsible for BJP's defeat in LS 2009??
May be if Mr Gupta reads this comment, he might help us to figure out who is DILLI4 !!!
This had to happen , It is well known facts that Reddy Brothers massively corrupt. What better time to get Rid of these. I am sure people will re-elect Yadurappa for all the good work he is doing in Karnataka.
Anonymous 1: You won't understand meaning of analysis or opinion. You yourself seem like a semi-barwi pass. Your theory about RSS and IAS etc indicates worse though.
Moreover These Reddy Brothers would have screwed BJP. The way corrupt people(in BJP) have been doing for past 10 years, i suppose that is one big reason( corruption) which kept BJP away from power.
Come to think of it i would not support BJP because it has money lords like Reddy Bros. I would go with (relatively) honest Yaddu. And if some one would want to support money lords, why would he go for poor cousin BJP and not Humongously corrupt Congress which can give better deal.
Anonymous 1: You won't understand meaning of analysis or opinion. You yourself seem like a semi-barwi pass. Your theory about RSS and IAS etc indicates worse though.
This is perhaps the second time AJ had to camp in karnataka to douse a rebellion. When the same thing happened for the first time, did he give a chocolate to each of them and thought that he has solved the problem once and for all? Any observer of Indian politics will understand which party has the resources and tricks up its sleeves to usurp power by any means. If top BJP leaders didn't see it coming, they are not worth their salt. By allowing themselves to be in this rudderless state for so long they have asked for it. Such shenanigans are to be expected and nipped in the bud. AJ shouldn't have gone to karnataka, the troublemakers should have been summoned to the HQ and shown their place/door in no unambiguous terms.
BAJA ,
I have been reading Sri.Kanchan Gupta's articles regularly.
Ofcourse , he is capable of perceptive analysis.In these days of political correctness , particularly overtouchy Indians in general , Kanchan G has to be circumspect. Plus what kind of profound impact any thought provoking analysis has on us anyway ? Rather than reflecting over the content , we move on to other mundane matters with a shrug of our shoulders. Or argue with a manic fervour.
An inocuous " holy cows & cattle class " incensed the overestimated , arrogantly articulate Jayanthi Natarajans.
Weariness is inevitable at times. However our politicians including the doddering dessicated ones are immune to it.
This is the wry irony. Only after His passing away, Sri.Ramakrishna Paramahamsar became known to many.He was just a (sic)" pagla thakur " till then.
Where is the insider view one would expect from Kanchan?
Kannadigas are seeing this as a tussle between relatively honest Yeddi and cash rich Reddys.
BJP govt won't go anywhere. If the push comes to shove, most of the "rebels" will back down. If not, JD-S is ready to cut a deal with Yeddi.
In all this fiasco, one thing is certain, Jagadish Shettar has shown his face as a opportunist.
Kanchan bhai - kabhi kuch kaam bhi kar leeya kar. Sara din tweet karta rehta hai! Kuch article warticle likh leega to Pioneer ka bhi bhala hoga. Tera akhbaar (pioneer) dooba ja raha hai - Chandan Mitra par reham kar aur Tweeting chor de!
I heard Yeddi is no yedaa anna and is warming up to hold elections if the Reddy brothers play "no-ready no-ready" to the Yeddi gov. Hence Yeddi is seen around those leaving for Haj and has made Mangalore into Haj transportation hub. I see secular Hindus are happy with this :)
You won't understand meaning of analysis or opinion. You yourself seem like a semi-barwi pass. Your theory about RSS and IAS etc indicates worse though.
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Har cheez ka "analysis" nahi hota! When will u understand this ? Kuch cheezo mai perspective hota hai.. personal opinion hota hai...this blog is all abt that Mr.analysis seeker..ab ismai kya analysis dai ? He's not a conspiracy theorist like others to utter nonsense in the name of analysis. This blog is abt REASON not abt analysis.
Regarding RSS and IAS matter u didn't get what I was trying to say. I was raising another point which u'll not get anyway so I'm making that points again..not want to waste my time with anatomically deficient folks.
AJ certainly comes under Dilli 4 category. Only a moron would say he doesn't.
Kanchan bhai - kabhi kuch kaam bhi kar leeya kar. Sara din tweet karta rehta hai! Kuch article warticle likh leega to Pioneer ka bhi bhala hoga. Tera akhbaar (pioneer) dooba ja raha hai - Chandan Mitra par reham kar aur Tweeting chor de!
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This Jhabdu type Gabru seems to be some pissed of Islamist in disguise. I've seen lot of Kanchan da's follower on twiter who r pissed of by his hard hitting sarcastic truthful tweets. These people include secularist and educated Islamist who live in denial, who don't wanna accept truth. Kanchan pls don't take comment of this jackass to heart, just overlook his comment and tweet more to tell these folks u don't give a damn abt them and pls continue to expose Islam regardless of ones discomfort. Thou shouldn't compromise with truth. Period.
SOS request to Sri.Kanchan Gupta & Chandan Mitra.
Sometime back , there was a scintillating editorial (Daily Pioneer) on the importance of maintaining purity of English language. How not to let it degenerate into hinglish , spinglish and so forth. I don't have the link.
Could you please publish it again.
Actually his strong decisions might just get him more support in those areas
/** Now coming on to ur blog..see I won't be surprise if they play M.P like music chair game in Karnataka. Incompetent BJP and ice age RSS r not "cut" to rule. That is the image public is making of these folks and to be honest facts also corroborate it, being a rationalist I've also begun to feel like that. They simple don't know how to "rule"; I'm not talking abt kind of governance they provide. Running a shakha,party, giving speech is different thing, running a state, ministry is different thing. These barvi pass, BA pass netas r not..i mean I've not word to describe it.."made" to direct, to rule smart, intelligent IAS babus. BJP-RSS doesn't know how politics is being done. Gadhe or dhour hai ye log..mera inlogo se ab moh-bhang honey laga hai..perhaps inke voters ka bhi..only dilemma for voters like me is Cong soft attitude towards Islam and Christination of India. India is doomed anyway...
****/
I completely agree with that anonymous user's comment.. BJP and RSS do not know how to rule.. they believe, that if they behave good, then people will automatically vote them..
They dont seem to understand the dynamics of the powergame.
Kanchan bhai - kabhi kuch kaam bhi kar leeya kar. Sara din tweet karta rehta hai! Kuch article warticle likh leega to Pioneer ka bhi bhala hoga. Tera akhbaar (pioneer) dooba ja raha hai - Chandan Mitra par reham kar aur Tweeting chor de!
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I think "Gabru" is actually Chandan Mitra - I know Chandan hates tweets etc. He wants Kanchan to spend more time working as opposed to surfing the net. He even wrote an entry on Kanchan's blog critisizing Twitter - but Kanchan da did not take the hint.
It seems that most of you don't understand Reddys and their polotics well. They ar not among those who take bribes from anyone and everyone, but certainly do everything to protect their mining interests, even by bending laws often. But they also generously spend money on poors time to time, their politics is vastly different from BJP's politics, but they also work very hard and achieve the given tasks for the party and inturn expect free hand in matters related to a few districts.
There is doubt about the fact that Yeddyurappa's performance has been excellent as CM, and he consolidated many castes behind BJP, however many ministers around him have done nothing worthwhile till now,they don't want to meet public, listen to their problems and be down to earth, they want official cars, media limelight and power. almost ever BJP minster and MLA from in and around Bangalore has real estate business, but they have not contributed single rupee for flood relief fund, not even their salaries.
Reddys on the other hand are building 50,000 homes for flood victims.
Today's problem is not just created by Reddys but by many MLAs who have come from Sangh background, Yeddyurappa has aggravated the situation by his own politics, had Yeddyurappa given any ministry to Shettar, who is younger than him in age, has been party president,Opposition leader.
Now BJP should decide what they want, people like Reddys, n their politics which is secular by the yardstics of the Media and also in conformance with Dilli4's opinion on Hindutva, and advice to move towards their version of inclusive politics.
Jai ho - Pioneer ka bhala ho gaya!
Aaj Kanchan bhai logged out of twitter at 8.30 PM. Normally, he up till 2 AM twittering!!!
My comments had a difference. Chandan Mitra (Kanchan's editor) owes me a big treat. Or maybe as some people guessed I am Chandan and in that case, I will take myself out over the weekend. :-)
Gabru: I am impressed by your inflated sense of self-importance. Now run along. K
"Jai ho - Pioneer ka bhala ho gaya!"
"Kanchan bhai - kabhi kuch kaam bhi kar leeya kar. Sara din tweet karta rehta hai! Kuch article warticle likh leega to Pioneer ka bhi bhala hoga. Tera akhbaar (pioneer) dooba ja raha hai - Chandan Mitra par reham kar aur Tweeting chor de!"
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Whosoever u r mister understand one thing u don't need to worry abt Pioneer. Worry abt those big flashy TV broadcasters who r making looses since they have come into being. If u have any knowledge of economics then let me tell u barring Zee news, Aaj Taq and perhaps India TV all news organizations r making huge losses, they r not even EBITDA positive forgot abt break even. So u should care abt these loss making organization rather than Pioneer. Pioneer is a not a very big newspaper, which is blessing in disguise for it, it'll survive any way perhaps will make even small profits also. But in the era of internet likes of HT and too some extent TOI could be big casualty. I'm not saying they will go belly up but their influence might become same as that of any other news agency. In a year or so 3g will be reality (though I'd love to have 4g which is million times better but won't come to India thanks to corrupt Raja and co.) just imagine when high speed wireless internet will reach to the hinterland of India, people of Jhumri Tallaiya surfing website on their cell phones, watching videos, following people on twitter etc..that will break the monopoly and bias of left-liberal media for once and for all. Don't have much time else I would have written more..the gist of my argument is its time for these big news organization to worry abt their future.
In 2004 BJP went after SG for her origins and in 2009 went after MMS for his perceived weakness and turned them into electoral superstars. Now the way it is going after RG, I get a feeling that BJP is nothing but a farce hoisted upon unsuspecting people by none other than cong itself.
Sir,
I feel sad for BJP and also for this writeup which completely ignores the role of MP and industrialist Chndrashekhar. How this guy suddenly came to occuppy an important post in State scheme of things? How Yediurappa who is NOT corrupt seems to think about reddy brothers corruption against Chandra's corruption? The bane of the BJP is getting into clutches of old vested interests who shift allegiance as they see the wind blowing.
Is not Yediurappa in the wrong in the first place in getting Shobha Karandlje and Acharya alone involved in the rehabilitation in the pocket burough of reddy brothers? Why they are ignored in the first place? Look at these guys like Sriramulu,reddy brothers, jaganath reddy etc. They are all YOUNG and donot carry IDELOGICAL BAGGAGE LIKE RSS. But the they understand the pulse of people.They also understand smell of Money and also Power.
Hi Kanchan,
Let me as a complete novice who does nothing more than vote and occasionally feel bad at the plight ask you a simple question. It may be politically inappropriate to answer but hey, what can I do about that..so here goes:
Why do you have such a poor impression of Arun Jaitley, part of the Dilli4, while the erudite Swapan has such a high opinion of the same person?
This also seems to be a pointer to how even those who support the BJP differ on what has gone wrong with it.
Swapan Dasgupta himself is not sure whether he is a BJP well wisher or not. By his views on talk shows and his articles just after the LS 2009, he looked like a Darbari of Nehru dynasty..!!
Also AJ might be a good orator. But he is part of that team who is taking BJP away from its core constituency in search for an elusive secular constituency who will always vote for Congress, no matter the failures of Congress governments and dynastic sycophancy towards Nehru family.
Arjun: I do not recall ever mentioning names of those who comprise Dilli4. Your presumption cannot be my burden.
Mr Gupta please tell me who is DILLI4. I have been following ur blog but haven't figured it out.. please help me satisfy my curiosity..!!
Mein agree karta hu - Jaitley Bapaji Dilli4 mein nahi hai. Jaitley Bapaji Modiji ke khaas advisor aur supporter hain. Kanchan Bhai Modiji ke sarvashrestra dhol-chee (drum beater) hai.
Dilli4 hain - Venkaiahji, Sushmaji, Rudyji, Ravi Shankar Prasadji.
Proof that Rajnath Bhaiya is not in Dilli4, Kanchan bhai says in his blog -
"Dilli4 and their drum-beaters (including in media) would like the world to believe that Rajnath Singh alone is responsible for Vasu's sacking"
Arey Gabru tu hai kaun yaar ? Badi majedaar bateein karta hai
Its obvious who the Dilli4 are, why is it that people still dont know who they comprise?
The 4 are - Shushma Swaraj, Arun jaitley, useless Ananth Kumar (Who hates Yeddy) and Venkaiah Naidu.
And all four are cronies of Advani who wants to continue his rule of BJP by proxy - he can not become PM so party may go to hell. There was a story in Raj Patrika that he and RNS were in Jaipur eating ladoos while IOC oil storgae fire was raging in nearby Sanganer but they just left for Delhi. No wonder, Sonia & Rahul (howsoeevr fake) have been eating BJP's breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between. It is clear Advani's efforts were NOT for the party but for himself. Now that he is no more in running, party can take a hike (to hell).
The problem BJP faces in every state it rules is the result of petty and insular minds of its leaders / CMs - AB Vajpayee was confident and open - hence every few yrs, we see these rebellions. Then, they do not know how to handle it as most are used to RSS type Adhikari-Bhakti but that is not how it works in politics. Plus the trouble makers from Cong etc. Only few BJP CMs have lasted full 5 yrs anywhere (Modi, Shekhawat, Raje, Dhumal).
There is a simple solution to these problems - a secret votinf for (or against) the leader which should be acceptable to all if they have true democratic spirit. That is a big IF.
Not one leader in BJP puts party's interest ahead of him or hers, not one. LK Advani once did but not him anymore. How long can it survive and come out of this pit, if at all?
Indeed an insight to BJP’s Karnataka crisis…Of course, Congress has a role in engineering the crisis. ‘Crisis after crisis’ -- this is what sums up the series of developments, ever since the BJP lost the 2009 general election. Is teh BJP really interested to get its act together?
BJP's top leaders are either in pay of Sonia and/or threat of blackmail by her govt.
Hi Kanchan,
Vasu blames Jaitley, you blame Dilli4 and its easy to presume. I don't really care to know..would have been mildly amusing..the BJP is really not useful for anything else.
Are we seeing a transfer of power to the next generation in BJP? Firstly, Karnataka crisis is the first major crisis post gen elections, and AJ is in the forefront managing the crisis not RNS or MMJ, even LKA is acting more like a patriarch. Can we call it baptism by fire for AJ? Secondly Sushma Swaraj represented the party in leadership summit of HT, or is it that I am reading too much into these developments.
How come nobody is talking about the Reddy's mischief from Andhra pradesh hand in it. Yes congress wants to break the first bjp government down south. We all are aware of reddy's brothers andhra connection. It cannot be ignored.
This blog is not for personal messages, well meaning or otherwise. Since some people are interested in my tweeting or not tweeting, they need to understand that this is not my main occupation. I tweet or blog when I feel there's something to be said.
arjun,
you need to study it better befor assuming things. AJ was never incharge of rajasthan affairs. Vasu blames a general secretary frm a state that went to election recently and received an all time drumming, and the genral secretarys lok sabha consti saw BJP loose 5/6 seats. Just check for the general sec in charge during rajasthan assembly elections u will know.
This is rough translation of a news report in Jagaran. This says all. We need both blasting of the Party HQ AND removal of ALL central leaders without exception if the party is to be saved. Else, it will be killed by the gang of supposed builder of BJP and his shaddy chamchas.
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Karnataka: BJP's crisis complicated
Almost reached a solution, BJP's Karnataka crisis is back to square one. Seemed like near a solution until afternoon on Thursday but all went awary by the evening. Yeddy was called to a leadership meeting of at Advani's residence and told of danger to his government. Yeddy then spoke to Rajnath Singh (in Lucknow).
CM's camp has pointed fingers at the
role of certain central leaders in creating this crisis, and consulted the RSS as well. Yeddy is considered close to Sangh.
In fact, everything was going well during the day. Before leaving for Lucknow, Singh had prepared comprise formula in cosultation with central and state leaders, and agreed to by all sides: transfer of top official, removal of the only female minister, appointment of Settiar as minister and some relief for Reddys. After this, J Reddy expressed confidence of better results. But, soon after that, they asked for CM's removal again which made the matters worse.
After several rounds of discussions, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Naidu and Ananth Kumar went to Advani's place in the evening. After a while, Yeddy also arrived there and was told about the new situation. It is learnt that he was told the danger to the government and what will he be willing to do (a hint if he will agree to resign to save it)? Yeddy reportedly left without an answer and spoke to Rajnath who assured him that he will not be removed even if that means loss of the govt. Singh will discuss again the issue after reaching Delhi on Friday.
According to sources, Yeddy told BJP leaders he can talk to JD-S to save govt. However, BJP high command is keen to resolve the problem within party.
An interesting take on Nitin Gadkari
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/former-carpet-boy-as-new-carpetbagger/541881/0
THere is one general rule, rather a blind one, i often used to employ..
When media praises any BJP leader, then there more probability that he may NOT be the right candidate..
And any leader strongly opposed by the media, is the capable leader who can put BJP in to next level..
The logic is that, by promoting a weak leader in the enemy camp, we can weaken the enemy's institution.. This has been the mode of operation right from british period, and currently employed by many countries..
Support and Promote an incapable to the top and he will take care of the rest..
I suspect, Nitin Gadkari is one such, bcoz of the muted response from the ELMs..
We can compare this to the response by the ELM shown towards Yeddy and Modi, the two stalwarts who actually accomplished things through their able leadership..
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