Divide and rule

That's the strategy Chief Minister Yeddyurappa seems to have adopted, as he plans to offer cabinet berths to rebel MLAs to split their campu00a0

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa appears to have resorted to the oldest trick in the booku00a0-- divide and conquer. The CM is using the carrot on the stick routine by offering cabinet berths to dissidents to lure a few to his side, in the effort to divide their camp. Yeddyurappa's other strategy of choice while threatening to shatter the dream of dissidents to form an alternative government, is by splitting the party to disallow anyone staking
claims to form the government.

Tasty carrot? Leaders from the rebel camp said they would not be
swayed by Yeddyurappa's tricks. File pic

The dissidents, led by BJP State President K S Eshwarappa, Member of Parliament H N Ananthkumar, representing Bangalore (South), and Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar, have revived the campaign to oust the CM soon after polling for the three assembly constituencies ended on Sunday.

The CM's camp prepared this defense strategy to combat rebels going in for his ouster. There are seven vacancies in the cabinet of 34, and Yeddyurappa is hinting at effecting the cabinet expansion shortly. Plan 'B' in case the tricks fail to yield results, is that Yeddyurappa will tread the extreme path to divide the party and call for dissolution of the assembly.

"The idea is to lure one or two rebels from their camp and divide it. Everyone is fighting for power and they will get it once they join us," said a leader from the CM's camp. He added that Limbavali has already been short listed for the ministerial berth.

However, leaders from the rebel camp said they would not be swayed by the CM's tricks. While several rounds of secret meetings were held among the rebels, Eshwarappa met RSS leaders in Hubli yesterday, with a list of complaints against Yeddyurappa. Ananthkumar met a group of legislators at the city residence of Tourism Minister G Janardana Reddy, and other former seniors ministers, including Aravinda Limbavali and Katta Subramanya Naidu attended the meeting.

Insiders in the RSS said the leaders were almost convinced about the case against the CM, while party high command, except National President Nitin Gadkari were with the rebels. However, they were studying the sensitivity of the Lingayat factor, which could have a great impact on the party, in case Yeddyurappa was removed. "He has projected himself as the real leader of the politically dominant community," a source in the RSS said.

Good or bad?
Amidst the speculation rife on political upheaval, Dharmendra Pradhan, in-charge of the party affairs in the state, is expected to reach the city in a few days, and leaders from warring camps are ready with allegations against each other. "Pradhan is coming to here just to take stock of the situation after the by-polls. You should not attach any importance to it beyond this," said Yeddyurappa. However, leaders of the rebel camp claim that Pradhan's visit has got its own importance. "Everyone knows that the legislators are unhappy. Let Pradhan come and you will find out how important his visit is," said Eshwarappa.