BENGALURU: BJP MLC Lehar Singh Siroya, a confidant of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, was on Tuesday seen at former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s house, setting off rumour mills with speculation about what the meeting was all about, and whether he was on a special mission.
Political observers point out two probable situations: one, that there has been a strain in the Yediyurappa-Siroya relationship, and the latter is gravitating towards Siddaramaiah as a counter to Yediyurappa. He is a second-time MLC, and there are questions being raised whether he will get a third term, because of stiff competition from within the party.
Asked about his visit by curious BJP partymen, Siroya reportedly said he had only paid Siddaramaiah a courtesy call to wish him on Deepavali.
Siroya, who used to hang around Yediyurappa from 5.30 am during his morning walks to late evening, has not lately been seen with him, leading to talk about a strain in their otherwise close relationship. Some even say that his days of utility to the ruling dispensation are declining, because many others from his community have grown in the party over the years — like present mayor Gautham Kumar, others like Siddharth Goenka, Prakash Mandoth, and former MLA Nirmal Kumar Surana, who has returned as vice-president.
Many of them come from a background similar to Siroya’s — they represent the trading community, many with roots in the North.
It may be recalled that when Yediyurappa left the BJP and started his own outfit, the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), Siroya reportedly met him secretly.
The other theory has more serious undertones — that Siddaramaiah and Yediyurappa could possibly be drawing close to swing the political equation some time in the future. Sources said there has been much talk that a Lingayat + Backward combination could swing things, considering it would be win-win for both leaders.
The third theory is that this is, indeed, a courtesy call by the CM’s confidant to the opposition leader, and nothing more needs to be read into this meeting. Whatever the truth may be, it still stands true that there is no smoke without a fire.