Yeddyurappa quits, Gowda hobnobs with Cong

The seven-day-old reign of the first-ever BJP government in Karnataka has come to an abrupt end with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa tendering his resignation to Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Monday without seeking a vote of confidence in the legislature.

The move came after JD (S) issued a whip this morning directing its members not to vote in favour of the BJP government. The strange twist comes after BJP refused to sign the 12-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) forwarded by JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda. Besides, the two parties failed to resolve their differences over the allocation of key portfolios such as finance, urban development and mining.

Another factor that became a bone of contention between the two parties was the proposed induction of former BJP minister B Sriramulu into the state cabinet. The JD (S) did not want Sriramulu, who had filed a criminal complaint against the then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, in the cabinet. But Sriramulu, a mining magnate, had the blessings of BJP national leaders. Yeddyurappa reportedly expressed his inability to drop him from the cabinet.

The JD (S) was expecting the BJP's national leaders to call on Gowda this morning to sort out the issues. But that did not materialise even after Yeddyurappa moved the vote of confidence in the legislative assembly. After it became clear that the JD (S) would not extend support to the BJP, Yeddyurappa abruptly walked out of the legislature announcing that he would tender the resignation to the governor.

Later, he told reporters that he had not no other option. "I tolerated the JD (S) all these months. I was not interested in occupying the chief minister's post after the JD (S) failed to transfer the power on October 3. I relented only after Gowda met BJP leaders in New Delhi to announce the formation of the government. There was no need for the MoU. We have been betrayed by the JD (S)," he said.

Gowda, who is reportedly hobnobbing with the Congress, left for New Delhi in the evening. However, Gowda's decision has been opposed by senior JD (S) leaders. At the JD (S) legislature party meeting, former ministers N Cheluvaraya Swamy, Amare Gouda Bayyapure and 20 other legislators reportedly threatened to walk out of the party if JD (S) failed to support the BJP.

"You (Gowda) are running the party as a personal fiefdom. The public mood is against us. How will we face the next elections? We do not want to be identified with a party that has lost its moral and ethical values. If the BJP is not supported, we will move out of the party as well and tender resignation from the legislature," a senior JD (S) leader reportedly told the meeting.

Subsequently, they staged a walk out. Though Gowda invited the 22 legislators for a meeting in the afternoon before the floor test to pacify them, they turned down the invitation.

"Gowda has told his close aides that Congress is willing to extend outside support to a JD (S) government. We prefer not be part of any such set-up since such a move will ruin our political career. We prefer dissolution of the Assembly," a former minister said.

Of the 57 JD (S) MLAs, only 41, who are followers of Gowda, had supported the formation of government. Of the remaining 16 legislators, eight are followers of former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, who has joined the Congress. Two others have opted to move out of the party while six others have remained neutral.

If the 22 'rebel' legislators resign, the JD (S) will not have the right number (113) to form the government with Congress whose strength in the Assembly is 65.