Yeddyurappa may have won the vote of confidence, but sources in BJP say that the party high command is thinking of changing the leadership soon

Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had the last laugh yesterday, as his scripted drama ended well with the government winning the trust vote; although he had to face tough hurdles he reportedly tried to stage-manage the political coup.


Confident: BS Yeddyurappa his hopeful that he'll complete is term as
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While the media was agog with land scams linked to CM's relatives, the rebels launched the dissident activities. Political circles were skeptical about the development because Excise Minister Renukacharya, who was seen as a staunch supporter, was leading the rebels. However, the scene changed when JD(S) Working President HD Kumaraswamy took control of the rebels. The drama ended with the disqualification of 16 MLAs and the government winning the vote of confidence twice in four days.

"The media is now talking only about the political crisis. Everyone seems to have forgotten about the scams. Maybe this was an objective of this scripted drama," said a BJp Leaderon the condition of anonymity. As if endorsing the argument, Renukacharya returned to Yeddyurappa camp at the end before the situation went out of control forcing the government to go for the trust vote.

Apart from submerging the buzz on scams that was embarrassing the CM, the development brought several advantages to Yeddyurappa. With the disqualification of rebels, he is now left with seven vacancies in the cabinet.

However, the road ahead will not be smooth for him with talks of changing the leadership doing the rounds. One of the leaders from the Reddy camp is tipped to be Deputy Chief Minister (DCM).

"Yeddyurappa's troubles are not over yet," said the BJP leader. "While the majority of his government is subjected to the final verdict of the court, he had to fight for his survival as CM, as the party high command is seriously considering changing the leadership."

Soon after the government won the trust vote, RSS leaders summoned BJP leaders to deliberate on the issues including expansion of the cabinet. An insider said that the issue of change of guard had also come up indirectly.

"Ours is a democratic party and debate on these issues is natural," said Yeddyurappa. "However I hope I'll complete my term as Chief Minister."