The knives are out. Now that it has become more-or-less apparent that BS Yeddyurappa’s days as Chief Minister of Karnataka are numbered following the indictment of his government by the state’s Lokayukta, Justice N Santosh Hegde, for his alleged complicity in illegal iron ore mining in Bellary district, both party and Chief Minister are working on a succession plan.
Yeddyurappa, who is the first BJP man to head a government in south India, is hastily putting together a succession plan. But this plan could be scuttled by his own party rivals in Karnataka, aided by a sharp drop in his support within the BJP top brass in New Delhi.
Justice Hegde’s voluminous second report on illegal mining (which is expected to be made public on Monday, 25 July, after the Chief Minister returns from Mauritius) is believed to be scathing in its criticism of Yeddyurappa’s personal role.
The report not only documents how his family members received alleged kickbacks from miners and how rules were tailored to enable them to acquire large tracts of land and properties, but also flays him for turning a blind eye to the activities of the Gali Reddy brothers and their associates who are allegedly involved in illegal mining.
It is small consolation for Yeddyurappa that Justice Hegde’s report is also highly critical of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anil Lad, and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda belonging to the Janata Dal (Secular). For the BJP as well, there is little comfort in the fact that the political influence of the infamous Reddy brothers of Bellary goes beyond their own party to the Congress.
Of the three Gali Reddy brothers – Janardhana, Karunakara and Somasekhara – two hold ministerial positions in the Yeddyurappa government. Gali Janardhana Reddy is Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development and Karunakara Reddy is Revenue Minister while Somasekhara Reddy is President, Karnataka Milk Federation. A close associate of the brothers, B Sreeramulu, is Health Minister in the state government.
The family is close to YS Jaganmohan (‘Jagan’) Reddy, MP from the Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh and son of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The associates of Jagan Reddy and Janardhana Reddy also have business links.
Karnataka Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj, who has been gunning for the Reddy brothers, clearly wants Presidential rule to be imposed in the state. But the Congress high command is reportedly not too keen as such a move would provide a handle to the BJP to attack the government during the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Hence, hectic lobbying is going on to find a replacement for the Chief Minister.
Yeddyurappa is hopeful that his protégé, Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje, would succeed him as the first woman Chief Minister of Karnataka. It may be recalled that in November 2009, after Yeddyurappa decided to call for a ‘contribution’ of Rs 1,000 from the owners of each truck carrying iron ore out of Bellary for those affected by floods in the state, the Reddy brothers displayed their clout by precipitating a political crisis that threatened the continuance of the state government.
The crisis was resolved only after the BJP leadership in New Delhi, in particular, Sushma Swaraj, intervened and after the Chief Minister removed Shobha Karandlaje from the post of Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and also transferred key government officials in Bellary.
Political scientist and pro-vice chancellor of Jain University, Sandeep Shastri, is of the view that Karandlaje may not become the next Chief Minister not only because of her proximity to Yeddyurappa but also because she is a first-time member of the legislative assembly (she was earlier in the legislative council). He adds that the front-runners to replace the Chief Minister include Higher Education Minister VS Acharya and Minister for Panchayati Raj Jagdish Shettar. A dark horse in the race is BJP state president KS Eshwarappa.
Shastri says despite being a Brahmin, Acharya could be acceptable in a state whose politics has been dominated by two communities, the Lingayats and Vokkaligas. His image is clean, he is elderly – he was one among the first batch of 18 BJP MLAs who were elected to the Karnataka assembly in 1983 but has thereafter been a MLC – and, importantly, he has the backing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Shettar, on the other hand, is a Lingayat and is believed to be close to former Union Minister Ananth Kumar. He is, however, perceived as a rival by Yeddyurappa who insisted on him becoming the Speaker of the state assembly in 2008 (apparently against his wishes).
(Incidentally, Yeddyurappa was the first Lingayat to become Chief Minister of Karnataka after JH Patel in 1998.) Eshwarappa is, however, said to be close to the CM and both come from the same district, Shimoga. Others in the race include Ananth Kumar himself (a Brahmin) and the low-profile Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar.
The political fallout of the Bellary mining scandal could be huge. Bellary has not only been an important arena of Karnataka politics but of national politics as well. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj (who is now seeking to distance herself from the Gali Reddy brothers) had unsuccessfully contested against Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress and chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition, from Bellary in 1999.
All subsequent (national and state) elections were won by BJP candidates as Bellary ceased to remain a "stronghold" of the Congress party after that.
The Gali Reddy brothers who control the Obulapuram Mining Company based in Andhra Pradesh are believed to have provided considerable financial support for the BJP’s election victory in Karnataka in 2008. The brothers have not merely been indicted by the Lokayukta, but also by the Supreme Court of India-appointed Central Empowered Committee, for trespassing state boundaries and violating forest laws during mining operations.
The Reddy brothers and their associates claim that they do not control any mining leases in Karnataka, even though the brothers and their associates have significant mining interests in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
It is alleged that the Reddy brothers control mining operations in Karnataka through illegal third party links, including "raising contracts" through which their associates extract iron ore out of areas that have been officially leased to other individuals and firms.
It has been estimated by the Indian Bureau of Mines (the technical regulator of the mining industry under the government of India) that over 90 percent of the iron ore that has been extracted in the Bellary region in the recent past has been mined in an illegal manner.
The last is yet to be heard about this unseemly episode in Indian politics.
