Bangalore limbo

The BJP must ensure that its CM doesnt work with his head permanently looking over his shoulder

The former chief minister of Karnataka,B.S. Yeddyurappa,who was heaved out of office after being indicted by the Lokayukta in the illegal mining scam,recently decided that eight months is a long enough display of penitence. After the high court dismissed the Lokayuktas case,Yeddyurappa called upon the BJP leadership to give him back his job. However,the current CM,Sadananda Gowda,who had been given the job last August mainly because he presented no threat to Yeddyurappa,has developed a profile of his own and has refused to vacate office. The BJP central leadership,meanwhile,looks uncertainly from one to the other even though it appears as though Gowdas position is safe for a while. Yeddyurappa,though,has overwhelming clout in the legislature and plays a large role in the BJPs electoral calculations he commands the Lingayat vote of north and central Karnataka. It doesnt help that the party lost both by-elections,in Bellary and in Udupi-Chikamaglur endangering its position in Karnataka,its first and only trophy state in the south,won after years of patient organisation-building. But more importantly,the party is endangering Karnataka itself,with its inability to concentrate on governance. The states economic survey has pointed to the ways in which agriculture and allied sectors have become worse off,industrial growth has declined though the state is still buoyed by its strong services sector. Crony capitalism is inescapable,politics is almost entirely given over to vested interests,fickle and awash in money. The last thing the BJP needs is a state party torn between strong camps,where legislators spend their energies plotting.

Sadananda Gowda has,to his credit,made some attempts to turn the story around. He has set standards for his ministers,tried to bring a sense of stability to the bureaucracy and made attempts at civic overhaul. But no one knows how effective he will be with the Yeddyurappa sword hanging over his head. The BJP leadership needs to put the state above the party. Otherwise,Karnataka will irrevocably mar its otherwise impressive record in the states where it is in charge.