Bengaluru: There is no danger to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s government as some sections are speculating over the meeting of some legislators, said a party spokesperson on Saturday, adding “the BJP leadership is with him.”
“The BJP party high command is with Yediyurappa, there is no danger to his government. He is a seasoned politician and knows how to deal with people,” party spokesperson G. Madhusudhana told IANS.
His comments assume significance in the backdrop of reports that some north Karnataka MLAs met over dinner and discussed strategies to make Yediyurappa expand his cabinet to include leaders such as Umesh V. Katti and others.
Fifteen BJP legislators met at Katti’s house on Thursday over dinner for two hours and purportedly devised plans to exert pressure on Yediyurappa to consider them for a ministerial role in the cabinet expansion.
Polls for the legislative council and Rajya Sabha are due in the state and the state cabinet had decided to allow the Chief Minister to select five MLCs, seats for which will fall vacant.
Senior leader Chitradurga MLA G.H. Thippareddy is reportedly unhappy over not getting a position despite being a six-time legislator.
Similarly, Katti is also reportedly miffed over not being accommodated as a minister and is said to have arranged the dinner meeting.
Katti is also planning to pressure Yediyurappa to consider his brother Ramesh Katti for a Rajya Sabha ticket.
Likewise, Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was also identified as one of the unhappy leaders who attended the meeting.
However, Madhusudhana said not much should be read in the MLAs’ meeting as such feasts are common among MLAs from north Karnataka.
“There is a custom with north Karnataka MLAs that they meet over food regularly whenever they are in Bengaluru. Many of them were also deprived of authentic north Karnataka cuisine for a long time because of the lockdown,” said the spokesperson.
He said the MLAs had discussed the problems in their native districts where there is a shortage of water and labourers are migrating to Goa, Maharashtra and Telangana.
Madhusudhana said it is normal for a politician to have ambitions.
“Every political enthusiast dreams of being a legislator. On becoming one, he wants to be a minister and later the chief minister and, if given a chance, the prime minister also,” he said.
“Any body aiming to outlive one’s capacity causes problems”, said Madhusudhana.
“But is it true that they are capable of toppling the government? No. Do they want the toppling of the government? No,” he observed.
He said the party has to live up to the promise of accommodating the MLAs who gave up their positions in Kumaraswamy government to bring BJP to power.
“Though everybody wants to be a minister or get a plum post, they cannot talk to Yediyurappa about it. They have all won the elections under his leadership. They know what is the capacity of Yediyurappa,” he said.
He said people would not pardon anybody who ditches Yediyurappa and their political life will end if they do so.
“They are all scared of Yediyurappa, they are all scared of the people,” said Madhusudhana.
The spokesperson said there are small hiccups in the party, which is common in every party.
“We will have to bear with it and we will have to crush it if something more happens,” he said.
Madhusudhana said there are some ‘Cs’ in politics — confuse, convince and crush — which can be used to bring order.
He expressed confidence in Yediyurappa, saying he is an old player who knows how to set things in order.
Recently, Yediyurappa himself tweeted about speculative reports and said he had noticed some news reports claiming he had convened an emergency meeting, but it was not true, he said.
