Yediyurappa’s birthday plan raises eyebrows

Talks of replacing BS Yediyurappa as Karnataka Chief Minister with a younger leader even as his son BY Vijayendra is busy organising a birthday bash for him on February 27 has raised many eyebrows within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

According to a senior leader from north Karnataka, BJP’s central leadership is exploring a change of guard as Yediyurappa has crossed 77 years. This preliminary consultation within the party and subsequent murmurs of a revamp in the State unit has set off alarm bells.

The BJP’s national general secretary-organisation BL Santhosh, camping in the State capital for a couple of days and meeting senior party leaders and ministers lends credence to the buzz about the possible change in leadership.

Last week during the legislative session a series of events took place, which has kept the BJP State leaders on tenterhooks.

The genesis of the idea of replacement of Yediyurappa and revamp of the State unit was an anonymous letter circulated among BJP MLAs and subsequent blame game over the author of the letter.

In addition to the anonymous letter, the reported meeting of a few MLAs and senior ministers at the residence of the Minister for Large and Medium Iindustries Jagadish Shettar’s house also heightened tensions within the party. After the said get-together came to light senior members who attended the meet distanced themselves from what transpired at the meet. The next day, Shettar had to rush to Yediyurappa’s house to clarify the issue of allegations of dissidence.

As all these were happening in the party, Vijayendra - who has been touted to be the successor to Yediyurappa, is going about organising a big birthday bash for his father on February 27. It is said Vijayendra has already approached all the leading Lingayat mutts in the state and also few senior Opposition leaders.

This bringing together of all the Lingayat mutt seers for the birthday day is being seen as a counter or a warning to BJP’s central leadership not to initiate any leadership change at this juncture and wait for his tenure to end.

Few leaders within the party are also of the opinion that Vijayendra, who has allegedly been interfering in file clearances and project approvals in the State, is trying to use the birthday bash to prop himself as the inheritor of Yediyurappa’s legacy in the party.