For a man tipped to be the next Chief Minister, it was a change of loyalty that tipped the scales in favour of Jagadish Shettar’s political ascendancy, despite the long-standing association of his family with the Jan Sangh, the precursor to the BJP.
Shettar, perceived as the blue-eyed boy of party patriarch L K Advani and credited with building the BJP in north Karnataka, a one-time bastion of the Congress, saw his popularity reaching its zenith when the party swept most of the seats in the 2008 Assembly polls, riding on the sympathy wave arising due to the betrayal to former CM B S Yeddyurappa.
Following Yeddyurappa’s ouster due to the multi-crore mining scandal, Shettar missed becoming the CM by a whisker; Yeddyurappa then thought Shettar to be a threat to him.
Turning back the clock
Yeddyurappa may be popular in south Karnataka but the Lingayats of north Karnataka have stood firmly behind Shettar like the rock of Gibraltar.
The then CM did try to cut Shettar to size by making him the Assembly Speaker despite the latter opposing it; however, he soon made it to the state Cabinet.
The fight for supremacy always existed between Yeddyurappa and Shettar. Yeddyurappa used to snub Shettar by not involving him in important decisions.
Shettar, however, never made his discontent public. After Sadananda Gowda was made Chief Minister, Yeddyurappa and Shettar were never on talking terms.
Change in equations
When Gowda started taking decisions that were not to Yeddyurappa’s liking, the equations changed. It is learnt that Yeddyurappa called on Shettar at a resort and requested him to “forgive and forget”.
Yeddyurappa also promised his onetime bete-noire that he would replace him with Gowda as the CM.
Had it not been for the slew of corruption charges against him, Yeddyurappa may not have allowed anyone to become the CM other than him.
By installing Shettar as CM, the latter will be obligated to strive for the victory of the BJP in N-K so that Yeddyurappa can become the CM again. The sudden bonhomie has raised eyebrows within the rank and file of the BJP in N-K region.
“It looks like Yeddyurappa is using Shettar’s shoulder to fire salvos at the central party leaders. Even if Shettar is made CM, his government’s longevity is under duress. The DVS camp will also commence dissident activities,” party sources told Express.
The sources add that Yeddyurappa will once again become the “remote control” CM. Blame for mistakes will fall only on Shettar
“Shettar will not be allowed to make independent decisions and will always be at Yeddyurappa’s mercy. In one stone, Yeddyurappa is killing two birds - Shettar and his friend turned foe, Sadananda Gowda.”
If Shettar becomes the CM, he may not accept any other post in future; also, if the BJP wins the next elections in Karnataka, then nobody can stop Yeddyurappa from becoming the chief minister again.
State may have two deputy CMs
NEW DELHI: After Saturday’s BJP Core Group meeting, the party may not have the usual mandatory Party Parliamentary Board meeting to put its stamp of approval on the leadership change in the state, said a senior Core Group member.
The BJP top brass is now grappling with the finer points of the change-of-guard blueprint.
The party hopes to have two deputy chief ministers - primarily to balance the state caste matrix - and K S Eshwarappa (a Kuruba) and R Ashok (a Vokkaliga) are the frontrunners for the two positions.
Gowda, too, is set to get an honourable exit — he may be again made state BJP chief.
Yeddyurappa was removed as CM last year.
After he helped install Gowda as chief minister, he has been demanding for some time that he should be replaced with Shettar, now counted as a close Yeddyurappa associate.
On his part, Gowda has maintained that the he strove to give a corruption-free administration in last 11 months after he was appointed as CM — notwithstanding the political instability in the state.