Bangalore:
December it is, says Karnataka strongman BS Yeddyurappa of his plans to finally quit the BJP and launch a new political party. He has been sulking for many months now for what he calls a "betrayal" by the top leadership of his party after he was forced to step down as Chief Minister on corruption charges last year.
Mr Yeddyurappa, who is known to be very superstitious and does things according to astral alignments, told reporters at Anekal, about 40 kms away from Bangalore, yesterday, "My thinking is clear. I will not remain in the BJP by this December. All preparations are on. I am discussing with my colleagues, friends in several districts and in the month of December, 99 per cent I'm going to float a new party."
While the one per cent keeps doors open for if the BJP leadership has a sudden change of heart in an election year, for now Mr Yeddyurappa says " going back" is not an option since it is clearly ruled out that he shall be made CM again or even the BJP's state unit president. "They had promised so many things, they dissuaded me and they have unnecessarily been creating a problem, which is why I decided to quit the party," he said. "Going back is impossible, I have made up my mind and the question of going back does not arise," he added.
He sent out another signal last month when he stayed away from the party's national executive meeting. His excuse - he had enrolled for a three-day Art of Living course. At the meeting in Surajkund near Delhi, senior party leader LK Advani made a strong statement against corruption which included a not so veiled attack on Mr Yeddyurappa.
Though Mr Yeddyurappa has promised that he will not topple the BJP government led by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, he has amply proved that he remains very influential among the BJP rank and file and has the potential to split the party and walk out with a majority of the party's MLAs. His party has refused to give in to his core demands that he be reinstated as CM, but it has repeatedly bowed to pressure on who should occupy that seat.
In July 2011, Mr Yeddyurappa was forced by the BJP to quit as chief minister of Karnataka after he was indicted in a report on illegal mining in the state. His pink slip came with the right to select his successor. He picked Sadananda Gowda, a non-controversial partyman. Mr Gowda's good humour was tested severely by Mr Yeddyurappa, who decided in July this year that he would prefer to pick another candidate for the chief minister's office. His party capitulated and Jagadish Shettar, who belongs to the same Lingayat community as Mr Yeddyurappa, was made CM.
In Mr Shettar's appointment and that of his senior ministers, the BJP has made complicated calculations to get its caste mix right and not alienate other powerful communities like Mr Gowda's a few months before Assembly elections due in early 2013. Its best efforts, however, are likely to come undone with a Yeddyurappa walkout. Mr Yeddyurappa is credited with single-handedly fetching the BJP its first southern state in the 2008 elections.