BJP split on whether Yeddyurappa should stay or go

It will be judgement day today for chief minister BS Yeddyurappa as Lok Ayukta N Santosh Hegde officially submits his final report on illegal mining.

The report submission is expected to seal Yeddyurappa’s fate as he has been indicted by the report. But an “honourable” exit plan is being worked out for Yeddyurappa if the report damningly indicts him.

Sources in Delhi BJP said it may still be touch-and-go for Yeddyurappa as he enjoys party president Nitin Gadkari's support and the RSS is solidly backing him. But even his supporters say that protecting Yeddyurappa for long won't be possible.

The leaked report indicts him for a causing loss of Rs1,827 crore to the state due to illegal mining in just 14 months and hints at him receiving kickbacks through huge donations from miners for Prerana Trust floated by Yeddyurappa’s sons and son-in-law.

Justice Hegde also said Yeddyurappa’s criminality was established beyond doubt.

But  a defiant Yeddyurappa will not give up. “Why should I quit? It is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and union home minister P Chidambaram who have to quit in face of their involvement in the 2G spectrum scam,” he said on Tuesday.

“I will comment on the issue only after looking at Lok Ayukta’s final report tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Yeddyurappa said he had convened a BJP legislature party meeting on August 5 to scout ways and means to speed up development works in Karnataka.

He will also launch his whirlwind Karnataka tour from August first week to spread awareness among the people against opposition’s “unrelenting misinformation campaign” to malign him.

A beleaguered Yeddyurappa left for Tirupati later on Tuesday with his close confidantes to seek blessings of Lord Balaji.

BJP sources, however, said Yeddyurappa’s defiance will be futile if Lok Ayukta’s report strongly indicts him. BJP high command has instructed Yeddyurappa to be prepared for the worst after Lok Ayukta submits his report.

The BJP core committee is expected to meet in Delhi on Wednesday evening to study the Lok Ayukta report and finalise its decision on Yeddyurappa’s fate.

Yeddyurappa may rush to Delhi later on Wednesday to participate in a BJP national core committee meeting, mostly at party patriarch LK Advani’s residence, to discuss Lok Ayukta’s report and the future course of action.

BJP is in no mood to lose its sting in its attack on Congress led UPA government on corruption in light of 2G spectrum scam revelations by former telecom minister A Raja.

Considering there is no escape in case of the report strongly indicting Yeddyurappa, BJP national general secretary—and his party colleague and bete noire—Ananth Kumar, rural development and panchayat raj minister Jagadish Shettar, and party state president KS Eshwarappa have emerged front runners to succeed Yeddyurappa, sources said.

But Yeddyurappa is firm that if the situation comes to that, he would choose his successor. He is stubborn on preventing Ananth Kumar from taking over the reins of power in Karnataka.

Eshwarappa and Shettar are no reliable friends of Yeddyurappa, who is apprehensive of the new leader destroying his political base.

The demand to choose his successor rides alongside a threat of settling for nothing less than midterm polls if he is deprived of the right to choose his successor.

Higher education minister VS Acharya and former BJP state president DV Sadananda Gowda are being preferred by Yeddyurappa as his successors, sources said.

These issues will be discussed at the core committee meeting on Wednesday evening.

The over 10,000-page report has also indicted ministers Karunakara Reddy, Janardhana Reddy, B Sriramulu and V Somanna too. Will the party drop the Reddy brothers from the ministry? This is a question BJP high command needs to answer on Wednesday.

If not the party high command, Supreme Court or governor HR Bhardwaj will be forced to come out with answers. A case on putting an end to illegal mining is being heard by the Supreme Court. 

The state government’s failure to act on the report could invite governor’s intervention.