Krishnaiah Setty had gifted his home to party on the promise that he would get to keep his post. But now, he's lost both
Krishnaiah Setty had gifted his home to party on the promise that he would get to keep his post. But now, he's lost bothHousing minister Krishnaiah Setty is not only losing his berth but also the house which he had given the BJP during the last assembly elections.u00a0
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HOUSE-ATT:u00a0 Krishnaiah Setty |
Setty had allowed his party members to open a makeshift office at his Rs 10-crore house located in prime Malleswaram. Later, he "gifted" the house to his party, after he was promised by some of the senior leaders that he would not be removed from the cabinet.
While, chief minister B S Yeddyurappa insisted upon his resignation to make place for V Somanna, who quit the Congress to join the BJP last month, party leaders are in no mood to return the house. Setty tendered his resignation on Wednesday, amidst uproar by his followers who didn't want him to quit.
In all likelihood, the makeshift office used during the elections will be the permanent party office.
The party leaders are understood to have decided to shift the head office located in the same locality to the new building.
u00a0Though the formal "gifting" procedure is yet to take place, Setty is not in a position to backtrack as party leaders are adamant about their stance.
"It is a prime property in a coveted area like Malleswaram," said a BJP worker. "The party bosses wanted him to give away the house. Setty had obliged because he wanted to continue as the minister. But, now he has lost power and will soon lose the house as well."
Last year, when Yeddyurappa had plans to drop him from the cabinet to accommodate one of the defectors from Congress and JD(S), Setty managed to retain the berth by gifting the house.u00a0u00a0
Twice lucky"Yeddyurappa thinks this office has brought luck to the party, and he led the party to victory after occupying it," said the party worker. "At his behest, Setty gave away the property, and it was registered in the party's name last week."
Setty apparently has no regrets. "Yes, I wanted to build the house there, but the party is also like my house," he said. "I am happy that I could contribute a bit to the party."
However, Setty's largesse has created a problem in his family. His wife was against the donation of the property. "It's no doubt a sentimental issue, but everything has been sorted out," said Setty. The family continues to live in a house in Rajajinagar.
u00a0"We are paying a rent of Rs.50, 000 a month for the present office," said Sadanada Gowda, BJP state president. "We wanted to set up office in our own building. We are exploring the possibilities of converting the election office into our main office."
The party recently purchased a piece of land in the same locality and the groundbreaking ceremony was also done to build the office. However, senior leaders prefer Setty's house as they believe it is lucky for the party.
Vaastu expert blames it on staircase
The house may have proved lucky for the BJP, but the party's Vaastu consultant says it is inauspicious with many defects as far as the Vaastu is concerned.
"The staircase towards the north-east brings ill-luck," said K Gangadhar, vaastu consultant to the BJP. "Had everything been perfect, the party would have got more than 224 seats in the last assembly." He has now advised the leaders to slightly alter the structure once the office is finally set up.u00a0 On his advice, the leaders shifted the office from old Bavu Rao Deshpande Bhavan to the existing building.
Swamy saves seat by a whisker
Women and child development minister P M Narendra Swamy, who was in the line of fire, has squeaked homeu00a0 with the chief minister deciding to induct only one minister into the cabinet. Earlier, he had planned to rejig his cabinet by replacing at least three ministers. Swamy was one among them.
Now, we can only hope that Swamy keeps his promise and visits Balamandir, before Yeddyurappa changes his mind.
