While everyone was chasing the revolting B S Yeddyurappa faction there was one person missing -- Shobha Karandlage, the power minister who is considered to be extremely close to the former chief minister.
Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday alleged that Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa made fresh attempts to 'buy peace' with him in a bid to bring an end to the slugfest between them.
In an attempt to blunt the opposition campaign against the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by him, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has decided to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly on Thursday.
The Congress had released 3 audio tapes in run up to the floor test, claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to 'poach' on the party MLAs
The return of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the inclusion of D K Shivakumar and Roshan Baig into the Congress cabinet in Karnataka have not gone down well with anti-corruption activists in the state.
While Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has made it clear that he would not step down from his post, a discussion is already on about who is going to replace him in such a situation. The discussion has emerged in the wake of the illegal mining report which names Yeddyurappa.
There was also no stay of the disqualification of rebel AIADMK MLAs.
The war between the two factions is on the rise with the Gowda camp stating that Yeddyurappa and co cannot dictate terms on every aspect.
Buckling under B S Yeddyurappa's pressure, Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday decided to replace Sadananda Gowda with Jagdish Shettar as the chief minister of Karnataka marking the third change in the state in four years. The decision was taken at the BJP core group meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, sources said.
Another round of infighting within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka has commenced. Nine ministers loyal to former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa quit the state cabinet on Friday evening, which has mounted pressure on CM Sadananda Gowda.
With just a few hours to go before Lokayukta of Karnataka Justice Santhosh Hegde submits his report on illegal mining, there is a lot of talk about a possible successor to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Crisis in the Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit appeared to worsen on Friday with former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa insisting on a February 27 ultimatum for his reinstatement and party president Nitin Gadkari ruling out replacing incumbent Sadananda Gowda. Yeddyurappa, who was forced to resign more than six months ago after a Lokayukta report indicted him on illegal mining, made it clear to the party chief that he was in no mood to wait any longer.
The truce between the warring factions of the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed its first political victim when the controversial woman minister Shobha Karandlaje, a confidante of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, was forced to resign under pressure from rebels.
The Bharatiya Janata P arty core group will meet on Saturday to take a decision on replacing Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda with Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar and finalise the strategy for the vice presidential election.
Stepping up the ante against Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, his predecessor B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday pressed him to convene the legislature party meeting at the earliest in a virtual endorsement of the demand made by 38 MLAs.
"There is no crisis in Karnataka. Our government will complete its term. There is nothing to suggest anything to Jagadish Shettar as he is a very intelligent person," BJP president Rajnath Singh said.
Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan arrived in Bengaluru on Sunday amid former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa stepping up his demand for reinstating him as chief minister.
Later, the chief ministers office issued a statement where it was claimed that the comments were an emotional reaction to the incident and not orders.
Fearing poaching from the BJP, the MLAs were moved and expected to be lodged in five-star hotels or resorts.
Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is optimistic about the Bharatiya Janata Party's chances in the forthcoming assembly elections.
The dissidence-hit Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit presented a picture of unity on Monday, with rebel leaders joining Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa at a meeting to ask partymen to work for the victory of party candidates in the April 9 bypolls to three assembly constituencies.
Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav on Wednesday disapproved the decision of the National Democratic Alliance ally Bharatiya Janata Party to allow Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to continue in office and said words should match deeds in the fight against corruption.
Karnataka Minister Shobha Karandlaje, whose scalp is being demanded by the dissidents gunning for Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's ouster, said on Thursday that she would resign "if the party asks for it".
All the 13 legislators, who resigned from the Karnataka assembly membership on Tuesday, will also give up their primary membership to the Bharatiya Janatha Party.
A Central Bureau of Investigation court in Bangalore Tuesday directed former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his two sons to appear before it on March 23 in connection with the illegal mining kickback case.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday took on Governor H R Bhardwaj alleging that he was trying to throw the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power and install a Congress government in the state.
JD-S supremo, H D Deve Gowda's thoughts on the IT sector being unnecessarily pampered is no secret. Yeddyurappa while trying to strike a balance between both the IT and farming sector will have to tread carefully. However looking at Yeddyurappa's performance under H D Kumaraswamy, it is clear that the tilt would be more towards the farming sector. For the IT sector, there is unlikely to be major sops announced. But infrastructure may get a boost.
Asked whether he implied that "crisis" for him was over, he replied in the affirmative. But did the thought of quitting ever cross his mind during the peak of attack on him, with even BJP being dragged in.
While the Congress has convened a meeting of all its MLAs on Wednesday to take stock of the evolving situation, the BJP legislators have been shifted to Haryana in an attempt to keep the flock together and thwart any poaching attempt by the Congress-JDS combine.
Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has made it clear that there is no threat to his government. During a meeting with Governor H R Bharadwaj, Shettar said that the numbers are there and he enjoys absolute majority on the floor of the state assembly.
Investors remained on the sidelines amid doubts whether the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka will be able to prove its majority in the house on Saturday, brokers said.
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers of various Indian states on Thursday paid glowing tributes to Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, while many states declared mourning and a Holiday, as a mark of respect to the leader killed in a helicopter crash.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Monday described as "too premature" the clean chit given by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to the Reddy brothers facing charges of illegal mining.
The speaker told Kumaraswamy that "this (SIT) should not lead to a witch-hunt. The probe should be only to establish the truth."
After the conclusion of the mammoth rally by former Chief Minister B S Yedyurappa at Haveri in north Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka has said that there was no danger to their government, and it would complete its full term.
The two chief ministers defied all protests and warnings by pro-Kannada groups and went ahead and unveiled the statue of the Tamil Poet.
Bharatiya Janata Party top brass is confident of tiding over the present crisis in Karnataka till the presidential poll gets over but appears to be getting increasingly reconciled to replacing Sadanand Gowda with Jagdish Shettar as chief minister soon thereafter.
The Minister under the scanner, Katta Subramanya Naidu, insisted that his hands were clean and said there was no question of resignation.
"I spoke to our party President Nitin Gadkari last night and briefed him elaborately over the media reports (on the allegations)," said Yeddyurappa, who has come under attack from the Opposition, which is seeking his ouster over alleged land scams and has questioned the allotment of land to a firm in which his two sons are partners.
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday made no secret of his pain in accepting the resignation of his "protege" and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Shobha Karandlaje.
