Yes- no- yes: Finally in the saddle

Vijay Grover

Call it rajayoga, sheer luck, perseverance or political diplomacy, B S Yedyurappa (astrologers say that dropping the I from the name made the difference!) finally occupied the seat of power in Karnataka as the Chief Minister. The hiccup bouts continued till last moment with coalition partner JD(S) still not announcing its share of power managers but as far as Yedyurappa is concerned, and equally importantly, they have conquered their first fort in the south. The BJP top brass is as elated as the new Chief Minister himself, more so Mr Venkaiah Naidu, for whom the capture of Karnataka will mean coming out of the hibernation that he had gone into his Chennai house for the last couple of years. But he managed to convince and bring around the toughest coalition partner that any one can ask for- “the former Prime Minister of India “ H D Devegowda . Though on the small screen, especially the Kannada channels, Gowda Sr played the role of another equally reluctant father , just like Telugu Super Star Chiranjeevi who was willing to forgive his daughter ( in this case Kumaraswamy) for eloping with some one ( in this case BJP) but not the bridegroom ( in this case Yedyurappa ). The grand swearing in ceremony on the steps of Vidhan Soudha starts with the second innings of the partnership in a reversed role, with BJP being the senior partner now. Yedyurappa who takes charge with boisterous announcements on rural development, has a tough task cut out for himself . As he will have to learn to walk a very thin rope by maintaining a balance between Hindutva and secularism. On one side for this pracharak of the RSS will be the task of being loyal to his ideology, on the other will be the twelve commandments of Devegowda which will demand secular approach from him. A hardcore Sangh ideology molded staunch Hindu Yedyurappa, will have to keep his gods happy , without being overt because his happiness will depend on the happiness of Gowda senior who will watch the developments and governance from very close quarters . Though ironic, but the party which won the biggest mandate in the last elections in the state, has finally got the third chance to govern in the state after the Congress and the JDS. But the task for Yedyurappa and BJP is a very challenging one as they will have opposition from the opposition benches i.e. the Congress and opposition from the treasury benches i.e. JDS. And the JDS supremo has made it amply clear that it is he who will craft the story board and the script for the next elections, including the timing and longevity of this government. Deve Gowda’s Twelve commandments to Yedyurappa will be the Damocles sword that will hang on the new Chief Minister’s head and one wrong move could mean that Gowda senior will cut the twine. But today the beaming smile on Yedyurappa’s face and the spirit with which the BJP is trying to salvage some lost glory and set the momentum going for the party, outweighs all the worries of later time. It’s a dream come true and the present moment is to rejoice … after all it is about becoming a Chief Minister and Yedyurappa has become the Chief Minister.. But for how long only Devegowda knows !