Monday, July 9, 2012

Lessons From Sadananda Gowda's Exit

Over the past few days, it became clear to Karnataka people that they would be having their third Chief Minister from BJP, that too in the very first term of the party's first ever government in South India.

"It's him" Gowda pointing to Shettar. {Source: IndianExpress}
We anticipated multiple reactions from all around India. The media portrayed it as more of BS Yeddyurappa's strong arm tactic. Most anti-BJP social media folks agreed with the media and went a step further mocking BJP. Congress party came up with a statement that BJP changes Karnataka CMs like cloths.. Funny that a party that had 14 CM swearing in ceremonies in Maharashtra in the past 30 years (ruling for 25 years), a party that had at least 12 CMs (including rebels) in Goa in 20 years, a party that had many cases of 3 or more CMs per term in Karnataka, AP, Maharashtra, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan etc., had to come up with utterly silly comment :)

In any case.. the focus of my blog entry is not media, not Congress and not those who don't like BJP. I personally believe that since both  Sadananda Gowda and Jagadish Shettar are of similar Sangh background, their administration and viewpoints towards the greater cause of Karnataka and India wouldn't be much different.  But this blog is for those who strongly support Sangh ideology and BJP, but confused over this particular phase of leadership change in Karnataka. It's for those who have had a varied opinion about this change of baton from Sadananda Gowda to Jagadish Shettar. It's for those who are questioning 'internal democracy', 'party with a difference', 'clean admin versus approval for corruption' and other topics, without knowing clearly what really happened with Sadananda Gowda.

I am not going to get into the topic of if this change in CM position is a good thing or bad thing. If you want a recap of what happened during the first BJP CM change in Karnataka from BS Yeddyurappa to Sadananda Gowda, check this out. If you have a bit more time to figure out where the infamous Reddy brothers featured in the whole episode, who were their "true" political business partners, you can check this out. This time, I am mostly focusing on why Sadananda Gowda lost his CM chair. Read on. Feel free to comment later if you have a different opinion.

“Give a man power and you will reveal his true character”, said Abraham Lincoln over 150 years back. We can modify it a bit in the current context. "Give a man CM chair and he will reveal his true colour".

And how did Mr.Gowda reveal his true colour? Here we go:-

1. Cozy up with the Opposition:

If I have to list the first reason why Sadananda Gowda became unpopular within BJP, it is his cozy up with BJP's nemesis in Karnataka, the Deve Gowda family's JDS party. 
DG with SG: {Source: Siliconcitynews}

Sadananda Gowda who was very vocal against Deve Gowda family in 2009, by comparing Deve Gowda to a Lashkar e Toiba Terrorist, was now going overboard to please the JDS party with the appointment Justice Chandrashekaraiah as the Upa Lokayukta. You can read through more on why this particular Justice was not liked by almost everyone else in BJP.

It's OK to have a pragmatic non-confrontational approach to governance, but not going overboard, that too in important nominations such as Upa Lokayukta position going against your own party.

Lesson learnt: Thou Shall Not Cozy Up With Opposition For Personal "Insurance".

2. Clearly going against his mentor and vocal in-party supporter, BS Yeddyurappa:

BSY "crowning" DVS in 2011.{Source: Daijiworld}
Anyone who followed the events of 2011 in Karnataka, would know two things:- a) that Santosh Hegde was very biased against BJP's first CM Yeddyurappa. b) and BSY strongly backed Sadananda Gowda as the next CM, surprising many caste 'observers'. But then came a very monumental event.Karnataka High Court not only provided relief for the targeted Yeddyurappa, but also threw out the entire chapter 22 of Santosh Hedge's mining report, which was the very reason for BSY's resignation in 2011. Understandably Hedge was "disappointed". But for an incumbent BJP CM, this was a huge statement in favour of the party. It essentially junked the entire media-Congress-JDS-Governor-Lokayukta attack on BJP on "illegal mining". But instead of celebrating this historic event when a retired Supreme Court Justice's report was junked at High Court, or at least keeping quiet in a dignified manner, our Sadananda Gowda remarked:   "There are still eight other cases pending against him!!". By any standard, this was a horrible back stab by Gowda to his erstwhile CM. Can you imagine any other party's CM going so overboard against his earlier CM? Sir, YOU touched Yeddyurappa's feet and took up the CM's position, and now went THIS overboard being opportunistic due to the feeling of chair insecurity? Naturally Yeddyurappa decided not want to "embarrass" Gowda and didn't campaign in Udupi Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha by election. 

Lesson learnt: Thou Shall Not Back-stab Thy Mentor or Supporter.

3. To project GIM 2012 a success, looked down upon GIM 2010:

Yeddyurappa had worked very hard with his able minister Murugesh Nirani in 2010 to conduct the biggest ever Global Investors Meet (GIM) in the state. He had succeeded in attracting Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) of over Rs.4,00,000,00,00,000. By any standard, that was a huge success. Close to a million jobs were to be created due to the investment promises. But then the illegal mining issue hit the roof. Mining ban was enforced by BSY govt under pressure. Since more than half of the investment proposals were related to steel, iron, mining etc., a lot of these remained promises. But even giving a big discount to that problem, quite a number of projects took off and are still in various stages of execution.

DVS at GIM 2012 with NRNM.{Source:  Hindubusinessonline}
Fast forward to 2012. Sadananda Gowda facing immense internal no-confidence-in-him issues, wanted to project 2012 GIM a much better event. The same Murugesh Nirani was with him this time. And sure they rocked! GIM 2012 attracted a whopping Rs.7,60,000,00,00,000 MoUs in 2 days! That must have been the biggest 2 day investment proposal ever in India, outside of Narendra Modi's Gujarat.

To a neautral observer, both GIMs were effective and in the best interest of the state. But how did Sadananda Gowda sum up "his" GIM in the backdrop of "his earlier CM's" GIM? "Yeddyurappa's GIM was an embarrassment!!". Is it Mr.CM? Your own party's government's GIM just 2 years suddenly became an embarrassment for you?

Lesson learnt: Thou Shall Not Take a Dig at Thy Own Government's Achievements.

4. Losing his own Lok Sabha seat in by election:

Earlier in 2012, BJP lost the Udupi - Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha by election. It was not a huge defeat, but enough to shake their apple cart wherein they had won 90% of by elections since May of 2008. It may be too harsh to blame Sadananda Gowda for just one major by election loss, but there were two key reasons why this played out against him.

One is his ability to lead from the front. For those unfamiliar with Karnataka geography and caste equations, here is a quick course. Effectively the state is divided into three parts from political angle. The coastal & Malenadu (Western Ghats) region, the north and the south. The caste and other demography characteristics of each region differ drastically. The south for instance is dominated by the Vokkaliga (Gowda) community, who form around 16-18% of the state. You can see in green colour below the districts where the predominantly one caste party, the JDS, won, riding on this Gowda voting bloc during the 2010-11 Panchayat elections. Bengaluru city also falls in the south, and has its own characteristic which is not necessary to elaborate here. The north is dominated by Lingayats (Veera Shaivas). In over 14 districts, their might decides who forms the next government, which is substantial. Lingayats totally account for 1/5th of Karnataka, if not more. Even in the districts in grey colour above, they were almost fully behind BJP. The coast/ghats area is diverse, and a mix of many castes/communities. This is where BJP started its south India wave 25 years back, and since then has been a strong BJP base. The reason this demography was explained is to drive an important point. Without North Karnataka, which is BJP's strongest base today, there is no future for BJP in the state. Compared to North, coast/ghat areas (Gowda is from here) have smaller number of seats. Since BJP is not strong in the south of the state, it has to project a leader who has mass base in the north. Gowda did not stand up to that challenge, when he lost his own seat in the coast!

The second reason is kind of entwined in the above paragraph. When North Karnataka's Lingayats are 3 to 4 times more important for BJP's survival, compared to south, there is no way BJP can antagonize that voting bloc by continuing with a not-so-strong mass leader, who lost his own seat. If you already gathered it from the second point of this blog, you would have noticed that it was S Gowda's stupid utterance after Hegde report quashing at HC, that probably cost BJP this Udupi seat. These things play out big within the party and the high command would have noticed it too.

Lesson learnt: Thou Shall Not Lose Thy Own Seat. Winning Elections is a Must. 

5. Proclaiming that (Only) Vokkaligas made me a CM:

This by far was the most stupid game played by Sadananda Gowda.BJP's R Ashoka, himself a Vokkaliga, pulled out a massive 'Guru Vandana' program of Gowda community political leaders after nearly 16-18 years. Putting Congress, JDS and BJP's Gowda community leaders on the same stage, handling all ego clashes, was not easy at all. 

DVS facilitating Balagangadhara Swami. {Source: Pics4News}
Going to a meet organized by his own community/caste is not a big deal. All politicians do. Taking care of the community's Guru is always a good thing for a leader. But what Sadananda Gowda did was horrible. To either overcome his own insecurity within the party when the powerful Lingayats are going against him, or to cement a much stronger bond with his caste audience in the case of danger to his seat, he played stupid caste politics.

In front of a huge gathering, he said that he got the opportunity to become the CM only due to the efforts and blessings of the community. That irresponsible "credit" given to one caste, openly, probably sealed his exit right there.

Lesson learnt: Thou Shall Not Play Caste Appeasement Politics for Personal Survival.
 
6. Not hitting hard on SM Krishna, Dharam Singh and HD Kumaraswamy, when he had a chance:

Golden rule of politics. You hit hard when you have the power and the opposition is in the back foot. Did Gowda follow that when he had the power? It doesn't seem like.

Dharam, Krishna & HDK. {Source: OneIndia}
When the Supreme Court (SC) appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) came to Sadananda Gowda for details of illegal mining by the former three CMs of Karnataka, Gowda reportedly gave very casual response with dilute details. For any observer in Karnataka, it was obvious that illegal mining did NOT start in 2008 when BJP came to power. There was a long list of irregularities right from 2000 when SM Krishna of Congress was the CM. The same irregularities became worse during Congress' Dharam Singh's CM tenure and JDS' HD Kumaraswamy's tenure. For details, refer to many reports from 2000-2008 period, which includes nearly one year of President's rule by Sonia Gandhi & Manmohan Singh, via Governor Rameshwar Thakur. Every regime gave dubious licenses and every regime has tons of allegations.

When BJP, which is slammed by all these parties for "illegal mining", had its best chance to nail the former CMs, that too when a SC appointed team is knocking on its door for hard details, it was shocking that DVS went very mild and slow. In fact, this angered so many activists that one screamed "DVS is shielding Krishna, HDK, as they belong to his community!"   

Lesson learnt: Thou Shall Not Lose An Opportunity To Hit Thy Real Political Opponents .

So in summary:- 

I believe that Sadananda Gowda scripted himself an exit before completing even one year. He definitely was a clean administrator. A smiling nice gentleman in most cases. A person who did work hard to clear any 'corruption' image stuck to BJP's first ever south Indian government. But he made crucial mistakes, some of which are listed above.  My guess is that he felt insecure that he might lose his CM seat, and also got greedy to secure himself a longer run, when the party script was not exactly that. He had a clear role to play when his former leader got into trouble, but he tried too hard to script a change to that role, without taking party and MLAs into confidence.

These are some crucial lessons for Jagadish Shettar and any future Chief Minister in India, on how not to lose CM chair by playing your cards too quickly, and too erratically.

Your comments are welcome.All viewpoints are encouraged, when expressed in non-abusive lingo.

41 comments:

  1. Its the Game of Chess...preparing for nexxt assembly election, a well calculated move...rest is the story and speculation of Paid-Media.

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  2. It is a well compiled article. Issue was BJP needing to maintain its hold on core supporters- Lingayat. By choosing Clean Shettar and getting backing of Yeddyurappa it is a win win selection.
    Two sins of DVS- forgetting that BSY made him CM and losing Udupi seat. It only goes to show BJP has many capable CM choices .DVS was led in wrong path
    Shettar would well understand that. Also with Yeddyurapa cases in court no one can do anything to favor him. Yeddy may come out clean and become Railways minister in centre -smedia4

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  3. Shettar is groomed as next Lingayat strongman of BJP. Shettar rose through the ranks of ABVP and RSS. Shettar will replace BSY (if BSY defects and creates hungama in last minute). Moreover, Sadanand Gowda was not sacked but replaced gracefully - Gowda may be moved to Rajya Sabha (MP)...Mute the news channel and you see Gowda and Shettar together with smiles in their face...rest is the story of Congress sponsored Paid Media!!

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    1. Suprasanna, Your comment about Shettar to replace BSY in the eventuality, is quite valid. Now the powerful Lingayat mathas can't really be that "upset" too!

      Delete
  4. It's not new in politics at least with BJP, the same happened with Uma Bharti VS Babulal Gaur in M.P. He used to call her sister and once he was in CM chair he distributed sweets when she was oust from BJP. Yes, in k'taka it has turned ugly as it became more or less caste politics.

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    1. At the end, as someone tweeted yesterday, LKG is what is necessary. Lingayat-Kuruba-Gowda combo for victory. With Shettar-Eashwarappa-Ashoka combo, BJP might recreate LKG class :)

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  5. Looks like the case of Sadananda Gowda is the same that afflicts the BJP at the centre i.e not hitting hard enough at the opponents when they have a chance. Also he not being a mass leader who can lead the party during the next assembly elections is a valid reason to replace him. If S Gowda getting closer to the JD(s) for whatever reason is indeed true, then it is wrong on his part and deserves to be replaced. Am sure the party leadership at the state and center might have weighed in all such factors keeping in mind the next assembly election and took the final call.

    However I am not comfortable with the caste-arithmetic being a criteria for the change. Agree that it is here to stay for sometime but the sooner we grow out the caste-ridden selection criteria the better it is for the BJP and the nation on the whole.

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    1. Caste politics or at least using caste percentages to arrive at the overall 35-50% vote share, is inevitable in India. For BJP, which has very low base among Christians and Muslims, that caste arithmatic is even more necessary. Dalits, even though over 22% of Karnataka, are not united as a voting bloc. That means BJP can't afford to lose either Lingayat or Vokkaligas fully. By adding up Kuruba, Brahman and others, if they can scoop another 20%, they are home.

      Delete
  6. Kiran - are you saying that BSY did nothing fishy at all? Was he not corrupt? You seem like a hypocrite criticizing Congis and other corrupt people, while adoring BSY despite him being corrupt! What's up with you man? Use a consistent yard stick.

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    1. I totally agree with you Praveen.

      Kiran hasn't pointed out well enough about bad karma of BSY. Irony! BJP have to make a temporary arrangement due to Prez poll n 2014 election.

      "A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first." -Chanakya

      Delete
    2. If you observe closely, and read carefully, the whole blog this time is about how Sadananda Gowda scripted his exit for most part. There was absolutely no need for him to go to a Vokkaliga meet and claim "my community made me a CM" or unnecessarily look down upon 2010 GIM. Whatever antics Yeddyurappa played, there was absolutely no justification to such deeds by DVS.

      MLAs get ticked off by such behaviour of a not-so-mass leader and in turn the High command has to listen to them.

      Delete
  7. your article is excellent.. for a political reader.. it is more than enough

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  8. Kiran,

    I was one of those BJP supporters who felt all wrong but now after reading this article. I am happy to what happened in Karnataka.

    Thanks a ton

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  9. http://www.twitlonger.com/show/i8kpo8

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    1. Sharath,
      I guess Avinash B already answered point by point here. Since he has covered most of the things I wanted to say, please read the response here :

      http://www.twitlonger.com/show/i8lksp

      Delete
  10. I did't want this particular blog entry to go as a Yeddyurappa versus Sadananda Gowda boxing match. But since some comments are conveying that Yeddyurappa did not do much beyond "corruption", please take a look at this from his own website. Even giving discount to self tom-tom, there is a very long list of achievements by BJP government in Karnataka during the first 3 years itself ->

    http://yeddyurappa.in/news-and-events/three-years-of-bountiful-development/

    On top of it, Sadananda Gowda also continued the good work with various development efforts. GIM 2012 was an excellent initiative, which most "mainstream" media blocked. If even 20% of the projects come to execution stage, millions of people in Karnataka would be lifted out of poverty!

    And to give credit to Sadananda Gowda, his personal blog has link to Yeddyurappa's blog too! Check out -->

    http://sadanandagowda.com/

    The blog entry here was only to show the mistakes of Sadananda Gowda as a CM. And they are factual too as all necessary links are provided. Those going overboard blaming Yeddyurappa are not realizing that no matter how many weaknesses he demonstrated during DVS' CM ship, they can't be used to say DVS did not do mistakes.

    Overall, BJP should learn from both CMs' mistakes and work hard on an image makeover for 2013. With Congress in total infighting shambles and JDS limited to 6 districts, BJP still has a great chance for revival.

    They need to get their act together quickly. Hope J Shettar handles that well.

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  11. Thank you for filling in the blanks!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dear Kiran,

    Please see my response to your blog.

    http://www.twitlonger.com/show/i8nce1

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    Replies
    1. My followup to your well thought out comments.

      1) Situation was "chaotic" for 3 years and now for the past year all settled? Far from truth.

      2) Have you gone through the remaining cases against BSY? Have you checked how many of them were specifically based on chapter of Hegde that was junked?

      3) No, BJP did not lose any base in the Graduate elections. It almost swept.
      Regarding Udupi election, it was S Gowda's remark that kept BSY out. So why blame BSY? If he campaigns it is his fault. If he doesn't campaign also it is fault? That's why I said winning election is important.

      4) BSY had nothing to do with Sadananda Gowda's GIM 2012 comments. They were unprovoked and clearly to look down upon BSY. I have followed GIM very closely and watched many interviews.

      5) No need to blow the Vokkaliga meet statement of DVS? C'mon.. he talked to 18% people of Karnataka that THEY made him the CM and gave full credit. What about the remaining 82%? Please don't justify such utterly stupid casteist move by Sadananda Gowda.

      6) "Anger" among Vokkaligas you see on street is manufactured. I heard from TV interview today that the same group which is protesting the removal of DVS is ALSO protesting against making Ashoka a deputy CM. That to me is 100% clear that the "anger" is manufactured by the father-son party. If not, why would Vokkaligas protest against a Gowda becoming Deputy CM?

      Yes, overall DVS conducted himself well. I have written it myself. But he paid the price for crucial mistakes which are listed.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for responding. Pls see below.
      1)Last 11 months were better than first 3 yrs, doesn't mean all is well.
      2)There is no need to be judgmental about the open cases. BSY needs to come out of this with out blemish.
      3)BJP won 5 out of 6 seats. Please check the victory margins, they all are heading south. Ramachandra Gowda had to scrape through with 243 votes. It is fair to expect educated voters to be affected by these developments.
      4)Attributing GIM comments as a reason for his exit is trivializing.
      5)Can not justify such casteist comments, from any one, that too from a Sanghi like DVS. BSY has played his part in converting political discourse to be caste centric. The Mysore Lingayat convention was converted into a platform for BSY praising.
      6)I hope you are proved correct, in your assessment of Vokkaliga protests to be manufactured. Karnataka can not afford a caste war at this juncture. But I am apprehensive, & was alarmed at Vokkaliga swamiji's intervention on DVS exit.

      Delete
    3. Let me ask you this Guathama.

      What do you think is the core reason(s) for exit of Sadananda Gowda?

      Delete
    4. A week & meek high command, which gave in to pressure tactics of BSY. Desperation of BSY to control power by proxy. Probably political miscalculation, that a tainted BSY at the helm, now in 2013/2014, will have the same "popularity, Sympathy, & mass appeal", cutting across "caste,rural/urban,educated/uneducated", as he did in 2008. The correctness of this only time can tell. But an untainted BSY for BJP, is the best option to lead in Karnataka, & there are none in the opposition who can match him. I wish BSY had exhibited patience & restraint, until clearing his names. In my view the change of guard at this point in time is a mistake & ill conceived. The amount of good will generated by Sadananda Gowda, while exiting office, is an indicator of the inappropriateness of the move.

      Delete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. mr kiran
      1)why should bjp legislators bother about upalokayukta? he deals with corruption cases he is not an DC OR TAHASILDAR etc..since he was not corrupt bjp mla's opposed to him..bjp mla's wanted their own judge so that they can easily get B-REPORT in various corruption cases against them..

      2) dvs went against yeddyurappa because yeddy followers wanted him to do illegal thing just like yeddyurappa did illegal denotification ,transfer etc.. so it was yeddy who went against yeddyurappa not dvs..what's wrong in saying still 8 more cases left? because of tht 8 cases he went to jail not for illegal mining..

      3)global investors meet 2010 is an huge flop show and even corruption happened in organising only..GoK paid Rs.500/- for just one rose. and in name of press meet crores of rupees was looted by v.p baligar and yeddyurappa..
      what happened to mittal steel plant,reddy's steel plant, posco etc. because of the corruption no one showed interest and it became an huge flop... so no dought huge embrassment..

      4)since he lost his mp seat u cant blame him.the congress candidate was very much popular their.. everyone says it's victory of jayaprakash hegde not congress. bjp won 12 out of 20 mla seats because of operation lotus.that's not 90% even yeddyurappa lost 8 mla seats..
      during last month's mlc bjp won 5/6.did u forget this one..
      another main reason congress lost in udupi polls is dvs didnt send party fund.. remember yeddyurappa used to send in ambulances also..

      5) it was sadanandagowda who sent an letter to cec through CS clamining no need of cbi probe on yeddyurappa although he was clearly involved in kick back scam..

      6) ifdharam singh , smk, hdk were corrupt what mr yeddyurappa did then he didnt order any probe but making nonsense allegations through his PS mr.puttaswamy..
      remember hdk went on to fast demanding probe on himself but bjp didnt have guts to order probe on others how shame..yeddy was the one who missed golden oppurtunity..

      7) bjp mla's of bellary are busy in bribing judges and they are caught too.but bjp dont want to take action against them..

      Delete
    2. deepu,
      I am replying to your followup comment in here, as the system doesn't give reply button there.

      1) Yes, Upa Lokayukta appointment is important. BJP got screwed by a biased Lokayukta who acted like Congress corruption protector. Have you thought why Congress works so hard to get "their" president, and not some President suggested by Left or BJP?

      2) Yeddyurappa banned mining in 2010. So DVS going "against" is nonsense. There is no mining in Karnataka for nearly 2 years now. SC is permitting 8 white-listed companies only now.

      Regarding 8 cases, check my response to Guathama above.

      3) Regarding GIM, you didn't read my paragraph fully. Read it and you will know why some of 2010 projects didn't materialize. Read the links provided.

      4) Haha.. So congress candidate more popular? Is that the defense for DVS losing his own seat? Doesn't work in politics sir.

      5) What DVS sent to CEC about BSY is not the point. Did he pin opposition, particularly SMK and HDK? Read the link provided in the blog.

      6) HDK's fast? LoL.. that was more funnier than Karunanidhi's fast :)

      7) Andhra Pradesh case is not a part of this discussion. That's a whole different topic covering Hyderabad CBI court.

      Delete
    3. 1)sadanandagowda appointed yeddy's puppet bannur math as lokayukta as his mentor told but bannur math rejected the post! so u cant blame dvs for everything

      and now i came to know how yeddy got so many B-REPORT'S in lokayukta cases. finally it was rejected by lokayukta judge sudhindra rao..

      mr .kiran if bjp also acts like congress then where's PARTY WITH DIFFERENCE?

      2) yeddyurappa banned mining because to benefit jsw and co.this case is being investigated by cbi now.wait for the charge sheet u will come to know hidden agenda behind banning. yeddy banned mining but his colleague's went on to do illegal mining.

      6) hdk's fast was funnier ok.. does any politicain in ktka bjp have that guts to demand probe against themself?
      yeddy claims hdk is corrupt etc then why couldnt he order for an probe and send him to jail?

      remember one thing being in opposition only jds has been successfully in sending yeddy to jail imagine if they come to power how of them will be in jail..

      Delete
  14. I write as a terribly pained and dejected BJP activist.

    Kiran, a brilliant history of sorts. It takes one through the various vagaries each BJP CM possessed that eventually culminated in their disastrous sacrifice. It is more of a self inflicted destruction than that of the Party at large. However, each singular act of non-conformance has its demerits and to this effect, BJP as a unit has failed considerably in the State. From a position of absolute power, a position that could only have been augmented with progressive vision, practical mission and unmitigated values, BJP lost it out with petty, selfish, acrimonious and avaricious sentiments manifesting each of its chosen State leaders. Not one of them, however justified their actions might be, stood above petty personal politics. None had the will or intention to garner the Party, BJP, into a tangible political force no Opposition could ever overthrow. Instead, they chose to play parochial caste based politics, a phenomenon hitherto exclusive to Congress Party.

    The demography of Karnataka State, indicating its caste values in each zone, should not have been the benchmark for a BJP victory. No doubt, it does play a vital role. However, it should have been Politics of good governance, progress, development, anointment of the poor and emphatic religious [not caste] preference that should have influenced the voters to prefer BJP. If BJP fails to recognize this pulse, then of course, not just BJP as a political outfit but as a preferred alternative to the splintered regional outfits will diminish. BJP should think of political correctness now and not of political appeasement of others, both internally and externally.

    In Karnataka, BJP has fallen way short of political correctness and acted like the other regional outfits by playing the deadly caste game for personal prerogatives rather than for the welfare of the people or the State!

    I concur. DVS has displayed treacherous and abominable greed. But was BSY any better? While there were many sparkling positives to BSY, they all pale into insignificance because of his autocratic persona. Both DVS and BSY have openly displayed their selfish desire for the ultimate post of Chief Minister-ship. To this effect, they were not reluctant to go to any perverted extent. At a time when BJP as a National Party should have come out firing guns, thanks to the continuous catch-22 situations offered by the Congress Party, they find themselves mired in an entangled labyrinth of petty political uncertainty.

    As I write this, the 10th of July 2012, I understand that the legislature party meeting to elect Shettar as the leader has been delayed following a massive protest by the DVS camp which has abstained from attending the meeting. Around 40 MLAs including DVS are locked at his home refusing to attend the meeting.

    So where does this end…..! People too have political integrity. They may tolerate caste based politics to a certain extent. But these State leaders are currently, with tad overconfidence, stretching the tolerance of the common voter. These leaders fail to understand that the voters have the potential to make a turn around which could cascade to self destruction of BJP in Karnataka from a point of strength it held a year or so ago.

    Can only hope it does not happen! They have 10 months for atonement before the next assembly elections.

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    1. Prashanth,
      Nice long and thought provoking comment.

      I can only say one thing. Less than 1/3rd of BJP's nearly 120 MLAs are from Sangh background. Almost all those making noise from various camps now are people who came to the party when they sensed power.

      That's probably the core issue. But without such a move, BJP couldn't have come to power, and we would have "enjoyed" Siddaramaiah & DK Shiva Kumar making bi-weekly trips to "seek Madam's opinion" on everything!

      - Kiran

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  15. At the end of the day, politics is all relative. BSY is much better compared to within his party or outside his party in Karnataka and even compared to vishkanya/pc/sibal etc in Delhi! We need yeddy because he has a mass appeal and gather votes to overthrow vishkanya and her dynasty for ever from India. I just cant imagine siddu, HDK, sriramulu or anyone else from jds or congress becoming CM. It will be far more worse than current BJP govt.

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    1. Haha.. Siddaramaiah, the party hopper becoming a CM. That would be a disaster.

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    2. yeddyurappa is the worst cm ktka ever had even india..he wanted to loot the money in small things also i will give u 2 to 3 examples then decide how cheap he was
      1) yeddyurappa has an house 'DHAVALAGIRI" in dollars colony.by claiming that i have given this home to rent for a land developer he got 50 lakhs frm that firm..and his assests increases easily...
      yeddyurappa had made so many meetings their only even bjp core committe meet...but he got 50 lakh ..

      rather than bringing black money advaniji should first look after these things i.e., clean the bjp first rather than talking about others..

      2) yeddyurappa organised GIM-2010 in june 2010.. we all know an rose flower will cost maximum 20/- but our yeddyurappa gave 500/- for one rose and he got so many lakhs through it..

      yeddyurappa has done 82 illegal denotification cases even after award is passed...
      yeddy has created history in ktka for having more than 12 FIR'S in pc act..
      and he claimed for all this acheivements i should be honoured by nobel prize.. he may be the 1st politician to receive noble prize thanks to bjp for giving this kind of cm..

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    3. siddaramaiah was offered finance minister post by yeddy and 40 theives in assembly only but he rejected it..
      siddu is one of the best fm ktka ever had after ramakrishna hegde.. dont compare him with yeddyurappa..

      siddu was minister and dcm for 8yrs not even one single allegation against him..

      Delete
  16. I would like to share a fabulous piece by friend Sandeep. He not just covers Sadananda Gowda & Jagadish Shettar's latest episode, but also recaps the entire 3-4 decades before them as to how "stable" Karnataka politics has been under non-BJP governments.

    http://www.sandeepweb.com/2012/07/10/its-all-about-winning-elections/

    Must read for all those who want to understand what BJP bashing media wouldn't convey.

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  17. Hey @ deepu,

    Since you're so fond of Siddaramaiah, I have a few questions for you:

    1. List exactly ONE achievement of Siddaramaiah as Finance Minister.

    2. For a guy who got voted on the plank of being pro-Kuruba, pro-farmer, list out at least ONE measure/policy that he implemented (?) which benefitted these guys. Did Karnataka need to wait for 60+ years to get Yeddyurappa who showed the imagination to implement a separate agricultural budget? What was "pro-farmer" Siddaramaiah doing when he was the FM? Are you saying he's so dumb that he couldn't think of a similar policy to benefit farmers? Or are you saying that he cheated the farmers by giving them false promises before elections?

    3. Since you're talking about BSY's corruption, let's also talk about Siddaramaiah's open secret of maintaining at least 7 mistresses, 3 of whom live in Palace Orchards. HOW and from WHERE does he get the money to maintain these women? Does his salary allow him to afford this luxury? If not, how does he manage to do this?

    4. Why did Siddaramaiah quit JDS? I mean, after all, JDS is a very vocal pro-farmer, pro-rural party while Congress doesn't have any ideology.

    Please answer these questions first. I have more questions lined up for you.

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    1. 1) achievemnt of siddu he was the one who gave 20kg's of rice and 5kg's of wheat at 3rs/kg.
      BJP in it's manifesto they told we will give at 1rs/kg but till today not possible..

      2) regarding farmer
      siddu reduced farmer's loan from 12% to 6% remember no one reduced 6%p.a in once..h

      3) it's immoral but not illegal. arre since u cant show any corruption made by him u r making those nonsense allegations which has no proof. if u provide the link i will appreciate you..

      4) siddu was expelled from jds since he organised ahinda in hubli.. due to misunderstanding b/w him and devegowda he was expelled frm dcm post and as jdlp leader..

      now mr.sandeep u answer these questions then i am ready to answer ur any question.
      the debt of GOK before bjp govt was 35k crore but bjp has created more than 1.10lcrore..
      bjp said 24hr free power supply to farmers. even after 4 yrs 2 months they are not able to give then when will they give? not even 6 hr 3phase power supply is provided in outskirts of bangalore..
      when will they give 1500 to unemployed youths?

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    2. siddaramaiah and many in congress today are from the janata party who fought against congress during emergency and established their names. Today they have sold themselves off for the same!

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  18. siddu is one of the best fm ktka ever had after ramakrishna hegde.. dont compare him with yeddyurappa..
    ==============

    Sidhu is a waste guy! Comparing him with RK Hegde or saying sidhu is the best karnataka ever had after RKH is not justified in any means! Sidhu was always in HDD fold and did whatever he could to humiliate RKH. #fact

    As a matter of Fact, RKH is the best CM karnataka ever had! He was the visionary for Karnataka RURAL development. If i can say, BSY is the only other CM who did a lot for Rural Development (leave alone allegations of corruption for a while).

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  19. I am pro Hindutva. I feel nijalingappa was the best CM of karnataka- unfortunately no one remembers him today because he was anti-Nehruvian (just like PVN) in approach. Veerendra Patil, Ramakrishna Hegde, JH Patel, BSY, devaraj urs are (not in order) the other best CMs. SMK did something only for bangalore. And for those who are talking about 3rs wheat, 1rs rice, subsidy is always bad for state financial system. After JH Patel, it is BSY's govt which set up power plants (they cannot built in a month- it takes years). There is a popular saying in kannada- baalehannu tindonu kalachkonda, sippe tondonu sigaakonda (that who ate banana pulp escaped, but who ate banana skin is caught)- this is the plight of today's BJP- feel sad but definitely far better than others like jds, congress.

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  20. Friends,
    Here is Sadananda Gowda's interview, on the day Jagadish Shettar became the CM.

    "I had never done caste politics before. Caste politics is not appropriate. But at the last moment, by siding with one particular caste, I made a mistake"

    Interview's Image here, in Kannada -> http://twitpic.com/a76kbd

    Essentially, he is openly accepting what I wrote as Mistake number 5 above. My take is vindicated :)

    - Kiran

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  21. I want to knoe any media reporter who is closer to BSY..Can u tell any 1

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  22. good analysis and i agree on most of your thoughts

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