Since the day B S Yeddyurappa became the first BJP Chief Minister in South India in May 2008,it had been a given fact that he would be most wary of a contingent of MLAs led by the mining barons of Bellary the Reddy brothers and their associates a group of leaders with no Sangh Parivar roots but believed to be key players in the BJP poll victory. Though lacking in any strong caste associations in the state,the brothers,who are now believed to command a group of 32 MLAs (including six ministers) of the BJPs 116 MLAs,have managed to hold political sway on the basis of their business acumen and strategic tie-ups. As signs of a minor revolt against Yeddyurappa emerged this past week from the BJP camp in Karnataka,it was the Reddy brothers and their associates who were at the centre of the action. Janardhan Reddy (Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure),his elder brother Karunakar Reddy (Minister for Revenue and Forests),and their close associates B Sreeramulu (Minister for Health),Anand Asnotikar (Fisheries Minister),Balachandra Jharkiholi (Municipal and Local Bodies Minister),and K Shivanagouda Naik (Small Savings and Lotteries Minister) were among those who did not attend the first anniversary celebration of the BJP Government in Bangalore on May 31. While the Reddys themselves have not commented on the decision to stay away,stories have been doing the rounds of the group being upset over Yeddyurappas autocratic style of functioning and the Chief Ministers bias towards leaders from his own Lingayat caste. There are reports that the dissidence was because Yeddyurappa gave great importance to his Rural Development Minister and close associate Shobha Karandlaje,but ignored other leaders. There are also indications that the Reddys stayed away from the anniversary bash after the Chief Minister failed to personally invite the group members. According to sources,the Reddy group is apprehensive that Yeddyurappa has emerged more powerful following the BJPs impressive performance in Karnataka in the Lok Sabha polls. There is a twist in this: one of the BJP candidates who barely scraped through,winning by just over 2,000 votes,was the party nominee from Bellary,J Shantha. She happens to be the sister of Minister B Sreeramulu,a member of the Reddy group,and they believe Yeddyurappa did little to brighten her poll prospects. The brothers,who are business associates of Congress leaders in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh,including Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddys son Jaganmohan,are also under pressure to balance loyalties for their own survival. Officially,the BJP has denied any rift. At a press conference featuring five ministers,the BJP leadership said the Government is on a strong wicket. However,sources in the party indicate that some corrective measures to bring the Reddy brothers around and rally more support for Yeddyurappa could be initiated during the course of an impending Cabinet reshuffle. One such measure may be removal of the CMs associate Shobha Karandlaje from the Cabinet,in an effort to undo one of the biggest points of criticism against him. At the same time,some of his most vocal critics from the ministry may have to go.
