For Yeddyurappa, will push come to shove?

[1]

As the core committee meeting convenes in New Delhi on Monday, the big question is this — will senior central leaders of BJP censure former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa for his latest and most damaging outburst against patriarch L.K. Advani and precipitate his exit from the party?

Top sources in the party told Deccan Chronicle that the state of affairs of the Karnataka unit and a stream of caustic statements by the former chief minister are likely to figure in the meeting called on the eve of winter session of parliament, where the Trinamul is set to challenge the might of the UPA.

When push comes to shove, will his exit be forced or will he go quietly?

A discussion on the ramifications of Yeddyurappa's exit along with his loyalists who include ministers and Members of Parliament ahead of a rally in Haveri where BSY could announce he will head the party he all but launched — the Karnataka Janata Party — is inevitable.

Sources said the leaders would be forced to walk a tight-rope as punitive action against Yeddyurappa could precipitate matters and threaten the stability of the government headed by an increasingly shaky Jagadish Shettar.

BSY will be on his own, warns KSE

A day after former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa warned BJP leaders that they would have to dissolve the state assembly if they tried to stop legislators loyal to him from attending the launch of his Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) in Haveri on December 9, state BJP chief, K.S. Eshwarappa claimed no BJP legislator other than B.P. Harish, Suresh Gowda and H. Halappa would go with him.

Also, dismissing Mr Yeddyurappa’s threat that the winter session of the state legislative assembly to be held in Belgaum from December 5 would be in jeopardy as over 70 BJP legislators would join his party, Eshwarappa declared the government would successfully hold the assembly session in Belgaum as intended.

Regarding Yeddy­urappa’s dare to the party to take action against legislators loyal to him, he said the party would take the right decision at the “appropriate time.”

On the former chief minister’s criticism of BJP patriarch, L.K. Advani, Mr Eshwarappa said neither he nor crores of BJP workers across the country would forgive him for his remarks against the “party’s tallest leader” and would not accept any apology from him either.

“No BJP leader in the state, including Yeddy­u­rappa should forget that party came to power in the state only because of the political struggle of senior leaders like Mr Advani,” he stressed.

Although a delegation of parliamentarians from the state had met senior leader, Arun Jaitely and in charge of the party’s affa­irs in Karnataka, Dhar­m­endra Pradhan, to discuss accommodating Mr Yeddy­u­rappa in a suitable position, he still maintained that he had been betrayed, he regretted, asserting that his leaving the party would not affect the BJP’s prospects in the coming Assembly elections as it was blessed with several RSS and Sangh Pari­var leaders, besides grassroot workers who were committed to its advancement.

On KJP president, V. Dhananjay Kumar’s charge that BJP was harassing legislators loyal to Mr Yedduyurappa, but was taking no action against supporters of BSR Congress party of B Sreeramulu, Mr Eshwarappa said the two matters were different.