Karnataka : Rahul Gandhi target Siddaramaiah for loss of power?
BANGALURU : Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa, tipped to take over as the state’s next chief minister after the collapse of the HD Kumaraswamy’s coalition government in the state, said he was waiting for “blessings” from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the party’s ideological mentor.
As the state’s tallest BJP leader and its three-time Chief Minister, Mr Yeddyurappa is expected to get the top job despite crossing the BJP’s age bar.But pending a formal go ahead from Delhi, the meeting of the legislators, which was slated to be held at 11 am today, is yet to start. Chief Ministerial candidate has to be formally chosen the leader of the legislature party. The party also has not met the Governor to stake claim to form government.
“I came here to take the blessings of senior leaders of the Sangh Parivar. I’m waiting for instructions from Delhi, at any point of time we will call for Legislature Party and then head to the Raj Bhavan,” Mr Yeddyurappa told reporters outside the RSS office in Bengaluru.
There were reports that he might fly to Delhi for discussions with Home Minister Amit Shah, the BJP president, and the party’s working president JP Nadda. The BJP is confident of majority, having scooped up 105 votes during the trust vote against Mr Kumaraswamy’s government on Monday. The Congress-Janata Dal Secular coalition could only manage 99 votes.
The effective strength of the 224-member Karnataka assembly is 210, with the half-way mark at 105. The BJP is also expected to get the support of the lone legislator of the Bahujan Samaj Party, who was expelled by Mayawati after he defied her orders to support the government during yesterday’s trust vote.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has expressed his exasperation with his own party leaders after loss of power in Karnataka. Writing on Twitter soon after Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy government lost trust vote on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi chose his words carefully: “vested interest” and “within” to identify the reasons for loss in Karnataka.
He wrote, “From its first day, the Congress-JDS alliance in Karnataka was a target for vested interests, both within & outside, who saw the alliance as a threat and an obstacle in their path to power. Their greed won today. Democracy, honesty and the people of Karnataka lost.”
This is in sync with what Rahul Gandhi said in his resignation letter after the Lok Sabha election defeat. “It is a habit in India that the powerful cling to power, No one sacrifices power. But we will not defeat our opponents without sacrificing the desire for power and fighting a deeper ideological battle,” said Rahul Gandhi.
Now consider what happened in Karnataka and the role of Siddaramaiah in the events leading to loss of power for the Congress in one more state.( With Agency Inputs ).
