Bid to topple Kumaraswamy Govt fails as Cong signals BJP MlAs may jump fence
Former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa may have failed to mobilise support to retain his chair after the recent Assembly polls, but he has not given up. From cloak-and-dagger mechanism to open call to rebel Congress and JD(S) MlAs to join the BJP to topple the Kumaraswamy Government, the lingayat leader is doing everything to regain the chair of CM. However, his efforts are not making any headway amid claims by the Congress of possible desertion by some from the BJP camp.
Yeddyurappa’s desperation was evident on Friday when he openly called the Congress and the JD(S) MlAs to join the BJP and topple the HD Kumaraswamy Government. The BJP leader made this call while addressing the State BJP executive in Bengaluru on Friday.
If BSY thought his call would trigger revolt in the coalition, then he was in for a disappointment. The JD(S) and the Congress leadership swung into action and sent a clear message that there was no threat to the month-long coaltion Government.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was projected as the rebel-in-chief, rubbished any revolt and vowed for the stability of the Government.
“We have formed a coalition Government to keep away the communal BJP out of power. The coalition Government will be stable; there is no doubt in that. It will be stable,” Siddaramaiah, who heads the co-ordination committee of the two parties, said.
This is the first time in weeks that Siddaramaiah positively commented on the stability of the Kumaraswamy regime. The Congress leader was in the news for leading a ginger group of party MlAs and giving indication that he would not mourn the collapse of the coalition Government.
Siddaramaiah tried to clear the air after JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda asked the Congress leadership to intervene and rein in Siddaramaiah to ensure the smooth functioning of the Government.
Gowda called up the Congress leadership after Siddaramaiah was heard telling in a tape that the coalition Government would not last beyond the lok Sabha polls.
In another video, Siddaramaiah is purportedly expressing his displeasure to the Congress legislators over presentation of a fresh Budget.
“Who told you that I’m unhappyIJ” he said in response to a question about speculation that he is unhappy with the coalition Government.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Municipality and local Bodies Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Saturday said people from the saffron party were in touch with him to join the Congress. “BJP people are in touch with us...they want to join our party,” Jarkiholi said.
Speaking to reporters at Belagavi, he said the Congress high command would decide about inducting them. Not wishing to give any numbers about how many of them were willing to join the Congress, the Minister, in response to a question, said, “You can say that they are in touch with us”.
In another development, Congress MlA and former Minister MB Patil, who had emerged as the leader of a group of dissident MlAs, upset about not making it to the Ministry during the June 6 Cabinet expansion, on Saturday met ClP leader Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah had returned to Bengaluru on June 28 after undergoing treatment for 12 days at a nature cure hospital in Dharmasthala.
Patil, considered an aspirant for a ministerial post in the second round of the Cabinet expansion, termed it as a “courtesy visit”.
Siddaramaiah gave some anxious moment to both the Congress and the JD(S) leadership when he held a meeting of at least nine MlAs who are understood to be unhappy with the Congress leadership for letting the JD(S) call the shot in the Government.
Sources said that the Congress leadership has asked Siddaramaiah to proactively engage himself in ensuring the stability of the Government because collapse of the coalition Government would have a big ramification on the prospect of Opposition unity ahead of the next year’s lok Sabha polls.
On his part, Kumaraswamy has also reached out to Siddaramaiah to help in smooth functioning of the coalition Government. Taking cognisance of the reports that Siddaramaiah was feeling ignored, the Chief Minister tweeted that he (Siddaramaiah) will play a bigger role in the Government.
It was in response of this tweet that Siddaramaiah came out to deny any speculation of a revolt brewing in the collation and said the Government would remain stable.
Siddaramaiah’s prompt clarification will come as a dampener for Yeddyurappa, who is desperately trying to get back the chair he lost after failing to take up the trust vote on becoming Chief Minister of a minority Government last month.
Sources said that the BJP leadership does not want to be seen making any pro-active attempt to topple the coalition Government, fearing it could have negative impact on the party’s image ahead of the lok Sabha polls.
BJP chief Amit Shah reportedly advised Yeddyurappa to take this factor into account while trying to destabilise the JD(S)-Congress collation in the State.
With his party not backing him aggressively and the rival camps not ready to join hands with him, BS Yeddyurappa’s bid to topple Kuamaraswamy Government is creating more splash in media than on terra firma of real politics.