The B L Santhosh effect in Karnataka politics

His imprint appears in too many decisions - from the choice of candidates for more than a handful of Lok Sabha seats in the last election to the two candidates for the Rajya Sabha more recently...

In the Indira Gandhi era, leaders like Janardhana Poojary were thrust upon Karnataka because the central leadership did not want strong state leaders. Today, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is going through the same syndrome,” said a veteran BJP leader from Karnataka calmly, without heat. The comment came as a stoic Karnataka Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa, posed for pictures along with the two candidates for the Rajya Sabha as they filed their nomination papers: neither was recommended by the state unit of the party, not out of any malice or factional considerations but simply because neither Ashok Gasti nor