BS Yeddyurappa may stay, for now

A defiant chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has earned one more day as the BJP top brass failed to have its way in deciding his fate on Tuesday. A final decision would be announced at 11 am on Wednesday.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who held a two-hour long meeting with senior members of the national core committee — Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Sushma Swaraj — on Tuesday night, said: “I have discussed the Karnataka affairs with senior members of our core committee. I will also hold one more round of talks with Yeddyurappa tonight (Tuesday) and the final decision in this regard will be announced at 11 am tomorrow.”

The meeting was held at the residence of Bal Apte, RSS leader and BJP vice-president.

However, party sources said, the high command has offered to show flexibility on the timing of Yeddyurappa’s exit by allowing him to continue as the CM till the forthcoming taluk and zilla panchayat polls.

Apparently, in a bid to strike a conciliatory note with the high command, Yeddyurappa presented a mellowed look of himself on Tuesday.

Admitting that a formula was being worked out to give some time to Yeddyurappa, a senior BJP leader said “he may continue as chief minister at best till the panchayat elections are over”. The move to carry on with him till the elections has risen from the fact that Yeddyurappa has a good support base in rural Karnataka with stronghold in his Lingayat community which constitutes 19% of the total electorates in the state.

In view of pressure from the RSS, the BJP leadership is not ready to take any hasty decision. This is despite the fact that a sizable section of the party leaders hold the opinion that he should resign.

Another factor delaying action against him is the difference of opinion among the leaders and strident stand taken by the BJP on JPC probe into the 2G Spectrum, Commonwealth Games and Adarsh Housing society scams.

A section in the party feels that removing Yeddyurappa before the government accepts demand for the JPC could become politically untenable. Another section felt that his continuation will take the sting out of the party’s anti-corruption campaign against the Centre.