Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has moved in swiftly to checkmate his rivals both inside and outside the BJP.
Sensing trouble from the opposition Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) which have been trying to cash in on the ruling party's internal squabbles, Yeddyurappa has agreed to meet some of the demands put forth by the dissident group led by Honnali MLA Renukacharya.
Renukacharya and other BJP rebels have met the chief minister and presented him with a charter of their demands, including induction of at least three of them into the cabinet and appointment of other dissidents as heads of various boards and corporations.
Besides Renukacharya, Belur Gopalakrishna and SK Bellubbi are the leading contenders for the ministerial berths. According to BJP sources, Yeddyurappa has agreed to accommodate only Renukacharya.
The dissidents have also demanded the dropping of at least five members of the present cabinet, reshuffle of the portfolios of some ministers and increase in grants for a few departments.
“After two days of intense deliberations, the dissidents have set December 21 as deadline for the chief minister to meet their demands, failing which 23 MLAs would quit their assembly membership,” a minister who is part of the dissident group told
DNA.
The BJP dissidents are said to be in constant touch with the Congress and JD(S) leaders. State JD(S) president HD Kumaraswamy is said to have held preliminary discussions with AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Ghulam Nabi Azad on exploiting the fissures in the BJP government. The JD(S) is claiming to have worked out a foolproof plan to form an alternative government.
"If all goes according to our plan, the dissidents will quit and the BJP government will collapse, paving the way for the formation of a Congress-JD(S) government," said a JD(S) leader.
