With the twin objective of exerting pressure on the BJP central leadership to dislodge D V Sadananda Gowda as the chief minister and to also ensure that their position as ministers is secure, seven ministers loyal to B S Yeddyurappa are learnt to have tendered their resignation to the former chief minister on Saturday.
Some more legislators are likely to submit their resignation letters to their leader on Sunday. The CBI probe against Yeddyurappa has come as a major setback to his followers. The camp is aware there is not even a remote probability of reinstating Yeddyurappa as chief minister.
Besides, Sadananda Gowda has the full backing of the central leadership. This being the case, there is a fear that the camp may be sidelined by Gowda as well as the party central leadership.
The RSS is said to be against the continuation of ministers Shobha Karandlaje and Basavaraj Bommai in the Cabinet. On Saturday, in a bid to ensure their political survival, seven ministers in the Yeddyurappa camp resorted to the time-tested political bargaining tactic of dropping threats of destabilising the ruling dispensation by threatening to quit the Cabinet en masse.
A recent letter written by Gowda and BJP State president K S Eshwarappa to party national president Nitin Gadkari complaining that six ministers, all loyal to B S Yeddyurappa, were indulging in anti-party activities, has come in handy for the camp.
Ministers Basavaraj Bommai, Shobha Karandlaje, C M Udasi, Murugesh Nirani and M P Renukacharya and V Somanna, who were named in the letter by Gowda, submitted their resignation to Yeddyurappa on Saturday. Their argument is that if the chief minister has no faith in them, there was no point in continuing in the Cabinet. Minister Umesh Katti is also said to have submitted his resignation letter.
Two more ministers Raju Gowda and Revu Naik Belamagi are likely to submit their resignation to Yeddyurappa on Monday. They want him to decide on the next course of action. However, not a single minister spoke to the media about their resignation, nor were copies of the resignation letters made available to the media.
Sadananda Gowda said in Mangalore that he was not aware of his Cabinet colleagues’ resignation.
No validity
The Constitution mandates that a minister should submit his/her resignation to the chief minister, who can either accept or reject it. In other words, the resignation letters with Yeddyurappa have no validity unless they are forwarded to Gowda.
As many as 10 legislators including B P Harish, C C Patil, Lakshman Savadi, S R Vishwanath, Sanganna Karadi among others are said to have tendered their resignation letters to Yeddyurappa.
Late in the night, there was speculation that Yeddyurappa would himself submit his resignation on Monday.
The demand of the Yeddyurappa camp is that a meeting of the BJP legislature party be convened immediately.
At the BJPLP, they would confront Gowda and Eshwarappa and ask them to define the parameters that amounts to “indiscipline”. They will express their lack of confidence in the chief minister and seek the election of a new BJPLP leader. However, a source in the Yeddyurappa camp said no leader was ready to convert the threat into action.
Change in leadership?
Though minister Jagadish Shettar attended one of the meetings, he did not support the idea of Yeddyurappa or any of his supportes quitting the party. It is said Yeddyurappa was in a dilemma — whether to remain in the BJP or quit it and float a party.
Shettar, it is said, advised Yeddyurappa to remain with the BJP. Regional parties have proved to be a failure in Karnataka, and hence there is no point in doing such an experiment, Shettar is said to have told Yeddyurappa.
It is also said that in case the party central leaders decide to strike a balance between the two warring factions, then Gowda may make way for Shettar, a Lingayat, as the CM. Gowda may end up becoming again the party president, while Eshwarappa may join the State Cabinet. However, the Delhi leaders did not give any indication of changing the leadership.
A breakfast meeting at Yeddyurappa’s residence was attended by around 20 legislators, including ministers. At the meeting, some of the MLAs pressed Yeddyurappa to announce his future plans. It is learnt that some legislators were critical of the attitude of the Gowda camp leaders towards their leader as none of the top brass spoke to Yeddyurappa after the Supreme Court order.
In New Delhi, a group of legislators led by Balachandra Jarkiholi is planning to meet the central leaders lobbying for the continuation of Gowda as chief minister. Minister Anand Asnotikar, a supporter of Sadananda Gowda, is also likely to reach Delhi on Sunday to speak for the chief minister.
Ex-CM loyalists on tenterhooks
While Yeddyurappa’s loyalists remained hyperactive through the day, there wasn’t much activity in the BJP.
State party president K S Eshwarappa, who is on a foreign tour, is scheduled to return to Bangalore on Sunday. He will also attend a party programme at Malleswaram.
However, RSS leaders were busy holding talks with some BJP leaders who have not identified themselves with Yeddyurappa. Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, after taking a veiled dig Yeddyurappa at a function, left for his home district Dakshina Kannada.
He is scheduled to leave for Delhi on Sunday. Yeddyurappa held meetings with his supporters, but away from the media glare.