How is that Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr. B S Yeddyurappa, appears uncertain and tentative even after three years of being in the post, a total of four and half years in the government, if you take his stint as the Deputy Chief Minister under the second coalition of government headed by Mr Kumaraswamy in the latter phase of the 2004-2008 period?
Ever since he has occupied the coveted post, to realise his life ambition, Mr. Yeddyurappa appears totally haunted by fear of being dethroned. He had had not a single peaceful day. He looks morose, worried and apprehensive.
The continued tension that he has been undergoing is finding expression in myriad ways. His jaunts around temples in Karnataka and outside are steadily on the increase. His temper has become increasingly irascible. He blabbers with promises which he is unable to keep, as he himself described in one of the rare moods of self introspection as “Bogale Dasayya”.
The upshot of all this is that the administration has become a rudderless ship, which is drifting without direction. The classic example has been the hurried manner in which the state government burned midnight oil to respond to the Supreme Court directive on measures to check illegal mining, after sleeping over the matter deliberately or otherwise. Mr Yedddyurappa finds himself caught the centre stage of controversy over the scams and all the rhetoric he has used in attacking those who have levelled charges, and his threat of “exposing” others, , has been unable to wash the sins of the involvement of the family members.
While politically everything appears to be going in his favour in favour of him, in dealing with the people, the party high command and the opposition parties, he appears to be tripped badly on a totally unexpected front, - in managing the party legislators and others, who appear to be seething with discontent, over his style of functioning and waiting to be burst out one day or the other.
Take the voters of Karnataka for example. , BJP has built up a track record of consistent growth in every elections to the extent that it has displaced the Congress from the exalted position it all along enjoyed as the No. 1 party in terms of voters strength. On the other hand, Congress remains stagnant and the JDS with its limited influence in few pockets of Karnataka is hardly in a position to challenge either of the two bigger political parties.
In 2008 elections the mandate was clearly for BJP rule, while the electorate put the two other contenders out of the race either singly or severally. And that the mood of electorate remains unchanged is evident by the outcome of the plethora of elections and bye elections held to the assembly in the last three years. This is despite what Mr Yeddyurappa often describes as a campaign of deliberate calumny against him.
His relations with the high command have shown considerable improvement from the phase of uncertainty which marked initially. It is on his side clearly now. The BJP high command has soft peddles on the allegations of corruption, while pillorying centre on the 2 G scam and other issues. The high command has started turning a deaf ear to the complaints and grievances of the dissidents and has conveniently forgotten its own promise of looking into the veracity of the allegations made against him.
As for as leadership in the state for the entire spectrum of the political parties are concerned, Mr Yedduyurappa has surely dwarfed others be in his party or outside in Karnataka. The Congress has nothing to offer to the people except the same old faces, haggard and jaded, who are more interested in setting personal scores than worry about the why the voters are shying away consistently from the party. For the JDS, its reach is limited and age and energy are not on the side of Mr Devegowda, who despite enjoying the position of the Prime Minister of the country has been nursing the desire of staging political comeback in Karnataka either directly or by proxy. His heir apparent, Kumaraswamy dazzled for while with promise of being future leader only to relapse into the shell.
Within BJP, Mr Yeddyurappa still remains unchallenged leader. The one who could have upset his apple cart, Mr Ananth Kumar, his one time ally in building the party in the formative years, has been totally sidelined,. He has been outwitted and outsmarted by the politically ambitious Yeddyurappa. All the behind the scene efforts made by Mr Kumar, to reassert his primacy have been successfully thwarted and Mr Kumar has been left with no option but to remain sucking his thumb, not knowing where exactly he lost the race for leadership against Mr Yeddyurappa.
So also have been the Reddy brothers, who once raised banner of revolt. Caught as they are in the web of litigation over illegal mining in Karnataka, the Reddys have a bagful of problems of retaining their economic empire rather than worry about the political prospects and challenges. Mr Eshwarappa, the State President, is considered leader mainly due to his exofficio status than anything else.
Handling the legislature has been no problem, barring the initial days, when the combined opposition, did give him creeps. After their the Centre puts it foot down on the machinations of the Governor at the behest of the opposition parties, to send Yeddyurappa packing home, the Congress and JDS have practically resigned to the continued rule of Yeddyurappa. He may fall by his own folly or the folly of party men but not because of the opposition. The opposition may bark but hardly bites.
Mr Yeddyurappa under the circumstances must blame none but himself for the predicament he has landed in himself, despite all over the political advantages. Mr Yeddyurappa is in a way, his own enemy. For the dissident activities, have been product of his own follies and foibles, a sad reflection on the quality of the leadership he has provided to the party.
There is something in his psyche which has exacerbated the situation. Those who have viewed his political graph, admit that the Mr Yeddyurappa from the beginning has been a lone wolf, who would desire to hunt on its own rather than in pack. Being a team leader has hardly been his virtue all along. He would act more on impulses than otherwise. His dictatorial behaviour was in public view during his stint as the leader of the opposition and party president. It was a common talk in the party circles then that they would come to know about the party’s programmes from his pronouncements made in the press conferences in Hubli than through any discussion in the party for a.
This might have paid dividends then when the party was in the opposition and it needed all onerous efforts to widen the base. But in the changed circumstances of party being voted to power, this has proved to be more of a liability than advantage. The newest thing has been the increased clout his family member and those in the coterie around him have begun to enjoy. This comes in sharp contrast to the style of working of his predecessors like Ramakrishna Hegde, J H Patel. In the case of Bangarappa and Mr Devegowda, the family member did get a peace of cake but it was at quite an obtrusive level. The BJP Generally Secretary Mr Jaitley once openly upbraided Mr Raghavendra MP and son of Mr Yeddyurappa, for landing the latter in a mess.
While the ministers have been nursing a feeling that there is too much interference in the working of the departments, with decisions taken behind their back and without their knowledge, the legislators are concerned over the manner in which the Chief Minister is keeping them away. This has also been the feeling among the party workers, who are increasingly become dejected over the behaviour of the Chief Minister. Moreover the Chief Minister wants to do all the things himself, and ends up with none and has hardly any time for consultations and confabulation leading to lot of heart burning.
The dissidents showed their capability when the Reddys during their open rebellion, almost succeeded in pulling him down and the Mr Yeddyurappa was lucky to escape the ultimate with a whisker. Unless Mr Yeddyurappa sees the writing on the wall and takes proper corrective action, the coming days foresee a path bristled with difficulties beckoning him. He must heal the wound he has created himself rather than expect the high command to bail him out every time the dissidents carry the complaint to New Delhi
May be that the people are still tolerant, going by the results of the series of elections held. But can the mood remain the same two years when the fresh elections come two years later?
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