BJP buys peace with BSY, change of guard on cards

NEW DELHI: The BJP leadership on Monday managed to buy peace with the Karnataka challenger B S Yeddyurappa amid indications it may come around to replace Sadanand Gowda as the chief minister before the budget session of the state assembly beginning July 16.

As part of the peace deal, nine ministers belonging to the Yedyurappa camp, who had threatened to resign if Gowda was not replaced, dropped their demand on Monday. Although the leadership maintained that the Yeddyurappa loyalists had withdrawn their resignations "unconditionally", sources said that the truce was signed on the basis of an assurance of leadership change before the budget session.

There is no clarity yet on Gowda's successor, but indications favour rural development minister Jagdish Shettar. A rival of Yeddyurappa until recently, Shettar has been backed by the former Karnataka CM largely because of the common Lingayat background. Yeddyurappa had initially opposed Shettar's candidature to replace him, because he was confident of getting a relief in the graft cases and did not wish a fellow Lingayat to emerge as the rival pole of attraction for the community that has been BJP's mainstay in the southern state.

However, with hopes of early respite extinguished because of the SC's order to prosecute him, Yeddyurappa has been forced to change his stand; not least because he did not wish to be accused of scuttling the prospect of a fellow Lingayat for the benefit of Gowda who belongs to the rival dominant caste, the Vokkaligas.

There are indications of a convergence between the priorities of the rebel and the plans of the saffron establishment. Though the leadership is firm on not bringing Yeddyurappa back as the CM until he was cleared of the charges, they see little profit in going to polls with a Vokkaliga at the helm.