This could be a classic case of once bitten twice shy. The state’s rural development minister Jagadish Shettar, who was once a strong aspirant for the Chief Minister’s post, seems wary of the offer made to him by his Lingayat counterpart, B.S. Yeddyurappa of making him CM now.
Mr Shettar has enough reasons for shying away from the offer. When the BJP came to power in the state in 2008, Mr Shettar was hoping for a prominent berth in the cabinet and even the deputy CM’s post. To his shock, BSY ‘rewarded’ him with the Speaker’s job—something the Hubli politician and his supporters interpreted as a cunning move to sideline him.
Mr Shettar was later inducted in the ministry but Yeddyurappa was in no mood to give him his due knowing very well that the former BJP state chief was his strongest rival in the party as could easily win the Lingayat seers and the community to his side. This rivalry became evident during the secret ballot for the CM’s post in August last year when BSY dumped his fellow Lingayat, Mr Shettar and backed a Vokkaliga candidate, Sadananda Gowda.
It may seem an irony that BSY is now making overtures to Shettar to get Mr Gowda—who has refused to give up his post— out of the CM’s saddle. But Mr Shettar is in no mood to oblige so easily, sources close to him said. The Shettar camp will however participate in the crucial lunch meeting on Thursday being organised by BSY which is sure to give the former CM a shot in the arm in his ‘Oust Sadananda Gowda’ campaign. AS for the CM’s post, Mr Shettar has a condition: The former CM will have to openly back Shettar’s candidature if the central leadership stoutly refuses to make Mr Yeddyurappa himself the CM.
Sources said BSY went out of the way to make up with Shettar during a closed door meeting at his Dollars Colony residence Tuesday night and pleaded with him for support. “I know I have been unfair to you. Let’s forget what happened in the past. I have realized my mistake. If you join me, we can again bring the party to power. I am at the fag end of my political career. After me, you are the leader of the Lingayat community and stand a bright chance of becoming CM”, BSY reportedly told Shettar, adding, “Mr Sadananda Gowda has ditched me by colluding with former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his family.
My friends in the party have hatched a plan to divide the Lingayat community”. Mr Shettar preferred to be as discreet as possible saying, “Mr Yeddyurappa is our leader. We have ironed out our differences. Last night, we discussed the ongoing developments in the party”. Mr Shettar is reportedly unhappy with some of the ‘decisions’ taken by the Chief Minister. “In the past six months, no full-fledged meeting of the core committee has been held. Only the CM, the party president and the BJP organising secretary have been taking important decisions. We are kept in the dark”, Mr Shettar reportedly told his supporters.
