Rumours of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa being replaced have surfaced again. Several MLAs who are close to Yediyurappa have come out in his support.
Yediyurappa’s style of governance has been disturbing to sitting ministers of the current cabinet.
They have raised the bogey of his son constantly interfering without any position of power.
The Deputy CM, along with some other close MLA’s, also wrote to the governor regarding the issues they were facing with BS Yediyurappa.
Amidst this, Yediyurappa broke the silence and speculations of rejig. He made two interesting statements.
One is he will resign from his post the day central leadership asks him to resign.
Two if he were to resign as chief minister, there would not be a problem, because there are many alternatives.
So, let us address these points.
Ahead of last Karnataka election, Yediyurappa’s age was a factor discussed prominently in the Lutyens media.
They floated a lie that BJP’s constitution bars people above the age of 75 from contesting polls.
This lie was denied by BJP leaders.
However, the party leadership is looking at potential replacements.
We are aware that BJP is a party which starts preparing for elections quite early. Therefore, the party deliberates on several issues. One section of BJP leadership feels that it is better to face the next election under a different chief minister.
Another section feels that they will fight the next election under Yediyurappa’s leadership.
But if they win the next election, then it would be better to get a new face installed as the CM, with Yediyurappa being given a graceful exit as, perhaps, a governor.
But who could be that lucky leader? Could it be Basavaraj Bommai who is a Lingayat leader very close to Yediyurappa? Could it be a Dalit leader like Deputy CM, Govind Karjol?
All said and done, I firmly believe the option of BJP going into the next election under Yediyurappa’s leadership with a rider that he would be given a graceful exit if the party returns to power.
Amidst this, a section of the pro-Congress and anti-Modi media are planting stories of a possible change in the leadership saying that BJP’s central leadership is planning to replace Yediyurappa for his failure to stop the second Covid wave in Karnataka.
This is the same strategy that was used by the pro-Congress and hate-Modi media in Uttar Pradesh, but miserably failed. They planted stories against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the same lines that he failed to curb the second Covid wave and number of deaths due to the pandemic.
However, Adityanath has done exceedingly well in controlling corona virus and deaths.
The pro-Congress media focused on Uttar Pradesh, instead of traveling to Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan, where the positivity rate and death rates are the highest. They did this to boost the image of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is party’s Uttar Pradesh incharge.
But, all these efforts by the pro-Congress brigade were foiled when BJP’s central leadership pinned faith in Yogi Adityanath and made it clear that the party is fighting the 2022 Uttar Pradesh election under his leadership.
This sent shock waves across the pro-Congress media camp. Frustrated with this failure, the pro-Congress media men in Karnataka, who have been time and again planting stories of CM replacement, floated this issue to fan the disgruntlement of those who had flocked to the party with a hope of getting ministerial berths.
Yes, the BJP is deliberating on matters revolving around Yediyurappa’s leadership, but for now it has been kept in the cold storage.
Yes, the BJP would replace Yediyurappa if need arises, but there are no such circumstances under which it would be done right now, when the state is facing pandemic and party yet to find a deep-rooted alternative leader like Yediyurappa.
Jai Hind.
