New Delhi, November 8
The BJP chose the 82nd birthday of LK Advani to finally resolve the fortnight-long crisis in its Karnataka government by bringing together dissident leader G. Janardhana Reddy and Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa. Apart from these two, BJP president Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, M Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar were also present at the occasion.
Within days of RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat and its spokesman Ram Madhav announcing that Advani will have to quit by January next and that none of his men will be chosen to lead the BJP, Advani and his men sent a subtle message to the RSS leadership today that he still commands the kind of respect and grip over the party that he alone can resolve knotty tangles in the party.
Earlier he managed to secure the resignation of a defiant former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje from the post of Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly, proving as sources close to him call his “indispensability” in the BJP.
Interestingly, the Advani camp seemed to have planned well in advance to announce the final truce coinciding with his birthday. Last evening, Sushma, Venkaiah and Ananth Kumar asked Yeddyurappa about to board a Kingfisher flight back to Bangalore at the last minute to cancel his plan and stay back for the birthday celebrations. Sushma also summoned Janardhana Reddy from Bangalore.
Elaborate preparations for Advani’s birthday had begun at his official residence last night itself with the whole place lit up accompanied by a variety of programmes.
Once Yeddyurappa had shared the cake with Janardhana Reddy for the shutterbugs, Sushma Swaraj came out to spell the contours of the compromise.
As per the Advani/Sushma formula, while Yeddyurappa’s confidant Shobha Karandlaje will have to go, Speaker Jagdish Shetttar will not immediately be inducted into the Karnataka cabinet. There will also be no immediate dropping of six more ministers as demanded by the Reddy brothers.
But a coordination committee under Sushma Swaraj will supervise the day-to-day running of the state government, completely undermining the Chief Minister’s authority. Reddy brothers will be members of this committee.
Reddy brothers’ demand for restoring the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of their choice in Bellary has also been conceded by the Chief Minister.
Sushma said the two (Reddy and Yeddyurappa) had resolved all their differences. “From now on they will jointly serve the people of Karnataka like brothers with no rancour or ill-will against each other,” she added.
