Having received flak for boycotting earlier all-party meetings on the Cauvery water sharing row with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka’s principal opposition BJP is actively taking part in all the deliberations on the issue.

The party wants to be seen as totally involved in assisting the State government tide over the crisis. Political analysts say the party’s double-quick volte-face is with an eye on the Old Mysore districts, where the party is weak. It could, however, derive political mileage in Bengaluru city, which is home to 28 constituencies: roughly 15-20 per cent of the total Assembly seats. The city also has a major influence on another 70 constituencies in the neighbouring districts. After seeing the ruling Congress and the Opposition JD(S) bond in their fight to safeguard the interests of the State’s farmers and its drinking water needs in the Cauvery basin districts of Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Ramanagara and Tumkur, the BJP felt isolated.

While boycotting the all-party meet last week, State BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa had said: “I consider the all-party meeting convened on September 21 a meaningless exercise and a diversionary tactic aimed at only to hoodwink the Opposition parties as well as the people of Karnataka. The BJP has rightly lost faith and confidence in the Congress government as it has repeatedly indulged in double-talk and betrayal. It is because of this reason that the BJP has decided to keep away.”

“BJP has a feeling that Siddaramaiah wants to make BJP a culpable-partner in his sins of omission and commission,” he added.

Realising its mistake now, the BJP has now plunged headlong into the issue, taking active part in the water-sharing deliberations. The party had also taken the lead to arrange a meeting between the Chief Minister and Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti last week.

Earlier, when the Cauvery row erupted, the State government requested the Prime Minister’s intervention: the BJP had then accused the Congress of “cheap politicking” on the issue by needlessly drawing both the PM and the Centre into the issue.

Now, after the Supreme Court directive to the Centre to intervene and facilitate talks between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to sort-out the water dispute, the BJP is singing a different tune.

It backed the State government to the hilt in Thursday’s meeting of executive heads of both States, which was convened by the Centre under instructions from the Supreme Court.

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