Yediyurappa's resignation; BJP still in a fix
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Newly sworn-in Karnataka's chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and outgoing chief minister BS Yediyurappa
Controversial Chief Minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappa finally resigned creating a huge headache for the BJP in Karnataka, the only South Indian state the BJP have managed to rule. As BJP failed to establish itself as a significant political force in Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, let alone rule these states, Karnataka was the sole South Indian state which allowed Hindutva to take roots. Yediyurappa is the mastermind who brought down, through undemocratic and immoral conspiracy, named Operation Lotus the Gowda-son Kumarasamy-led government of parties that claim to be secular such as the Congress and HD Gowda's Janata Dal. He also ensured the BJP rule and governance in the state. His main aim was the Chief Minister position as he spent crores on all this. The saffron party views Yediyurappa as such a heroic figure who snatched the Chief Minister position with the support of former Congress deserters whom he made resign enticing them power and position, fielded under the BJP and to them to win.
Though Yediyurappa has become the Chief Minister thrice earlier, he was unable to complete a full term even once. The last opportunity to complete a term also slipped from his hands after he lost it on the day of completion of two years. Although he was forced to resign and go to jail after the lokayukta confirmed the allegations of corruption in illegal iron ore mining, it was not hard for the devoted Shiv bhakt and regular devotee of the Rajeswara temple in Taliparamba, Kerala, to use his money power, influence and caste privilege to regain his hold in the state politics. There is also the antecedent that when he had to be out of the BJP, he formed a new party KJP which won seven seats in the 2013 assembly election, finished second in 30 seats, and emerged the second largest party, thus forcing the BJP to be satisfied with third place behind the Congress and Janata Dal. With this, the Shah-Modi duo and the RSS decided that they could rule Karnataka only by allying with Yediyurappa. Ethics, justice or loyalty to the constitution was never a deterrent for the Sangh Parivar. However, internal fights and bickering for leadership continued. Those who were determined to remove Yediyurappa from his position intensified these fights. His former supporters themselves turned against him. It is with the support of the party general secretary BL Sathosh that the conspiracy to oust Yediyurappa was hatched. Though they cite Yediyurappa's age as the reason (he is 78 years old), it has been noted that the RSS is attempting to create a leader who shall follow the Hindutva lines of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Yediyurappa's attempts to please all sides and his pragmatic approach in conducting governance are said to have been unacceptable to the RSS camp.
Even as Yediyurappa has resigned, he has done so with the condition that provision is made for his sons Devendra and Jayendra to get suitable positions. If that is not fulfilled, whoever be the next minister, Yediyurappa will not let him have peace. The successor to Yediyurappa is another Lingayat community leader, Basavaraj Bommai. This move by the BJP leadership is probably aimed at calming the opposition from Dingaleshwar Swami, the head of the Lingayat Monastery (mutt) at Balehosur. The Lingayats, who account for seventeen per cent of the population had demanded that a member of their community should remain the CM. Despite the grandiose claims made by the sangh parivar about Hindu unity and a monolithic Bharatiya culture, the undeniable fact is that casteism remains impregnable as a divisive force. The panacea of Muslim hatred will not be effective everywhere and at all times. It would do well to open its eyes and see the outcome in Bengal despite the prime minister and home minister camping there long, lavishly pumping funds and whipping up hatred for minorities.
