Ex-CM Kumaraswamy & CM Yediyurappa could Be Chums Again
Mangaluru: In January 2019, when rumours spread that former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy would support B S Yediyurappa, the former said that not to give ear to such rumours, and Don’t Give Ear To Such Rumours, and rubbished the reports about JD(S) extending support to B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state. Kumaraswamy had then tweeted, “I have gone through the baseless report about (JDS) developing relationship with BJP. Our party MLAs and workers should not give ear to such rumours. We will build the party by serving the people. Our pro-people struggle is continuous. We are going to play a constructive role. As a regional party we will oppose where we have to oppose. That’s all. If you (Yediyurappa) do something good for the state, we welcome it”
Earlier the ‘Nikhil Ellidiyappa’ phrase had entered the lexicon of the people of the State, after a video of a movie promotion campaign where Kumaraswamy uses it to locate his son in the audience went viral just ahead of Lok Sabha elections and spawned several memes. And now that rumours are that HD Kumaraswamy could be a friend again with B S Yediyurappa, our former state CM Kumaraswamy, may soon use the phrase “Yeddu Ellidiyappa” to locate his pal Yeddiyurappa.
Sources reveal that couple of days ago, arch-rivals CM BS Yediyurappa and his predecessor HD Kumaraswamy held a closed-door meeting, triggering speculation of a possible political realignment in the state. The two had held a closed-door meeting for around 20 minutes at the CM’s home-office, ‘Krishna’, and it is not clear what transpired but sources said the CM asked officers and senior ministers to leave before the one-on-one meeting. The JD(S) leader and BJP ministers denied any political issues were discussed. But HDK had said “We talked about the havoc caused by rains in the Dasarahalli constituency represented by our party MLA Manjunath…”
The meeting, however, has assumed significance as it has come at a time when political circles are abuzz with talk of a “top to bottom” revamp by the central BJP leadership in Karnataka in December after the Bihar polls. Murmurs have also been going on for a while about a possible merger of JD(S) into BJP. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. If it was only about release of funds, there was no need for Kumaraswamy to personally meet the CM,” said a BJP functionary. Murmurs have been going on for a while about a possible JDS-BJP merger as well. Sources said the BJP brass has already sent feelers to a top JD(S) functionary. The proposal is part of the party’s larger plan to consolidate votes from the two dominant communities — Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
As of now, majority Lingayats are with BJP while JD(S) has been the favourite of Vokkaligas. BJP has been trying to make inroads into the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region and has met with little success so far. On the other hand, sources said the BJP high command is unhappy with Yediyurappa’s style of functioning, especially on the response to the Covid crisis, and is mulling a leadership change to improve the party’s prospects in Karnataka.
BJP ministers CN Ashwath Narayan and CT Ravi dismissed such reports and said Yediyurappa will complete his tenure. “No talks are being held in the party on change of leadership in Karnataka. Opposition leaders and MLAs meeting the CM is a common thing and today’s meeting was one such. No one one should attach political importance to it,” said Narayan.
Speculations are rife in the political circles of the state that JD(S) leader and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy will support chief minister B S Yediyurappa in case of any unexpected twists and turns in the political scenario of Karnataka. The speculation was triggered after a meeting between the two leaders. It is a known fact that neither former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda nor Kumaraswamy meets anyone without any political intention. There is always a political motive behind their meeting. Hence the sources are of the opinion that this meeting of H D Kumaraswamy with Yediyurappa also has a certain political angle to it. It is also heard, meeting between Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa has caused tension in the Congress circles of the state.
CM Yediyurappa and former CM became bitter enemies after 2013 assembly elections, when JD (S) joined hands with Congress and denied BJP the chance to rule the state. After the collapse of the coalition government and assuming of rule by BJP, Kumaraswamy used to taunt Yediyurappa at every opportunity he got. However, during the coronavirus pandemic he supported Yediyurappa when Siddaramaiah attacked Yediyurappa. Let’s keep our fingers crossed until the real truth is seen in the coming days, when Kumaraswamy and Yeddiyurappa become True friends!
Inputs from TOI
