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| Edited By: Hemanth Kumar |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 06, 2011, 01:38 PM IST
As the CBI sleuths swooped down on the residences of mining baron Janardhana Reddy, his brother-in-law B Srinivas Reddy and their close confidant B Sriramulu, Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda was a relieved man.
The CBI raids came within 24 hours of Sriramulu quitting from the state assembly and announcing a Swabhiman Yatra as part of the Reddys’ strategy to force their way into the cabinet.
The Sriramulu move had pushed the one-month-old Sadananda Gowda government to the brink.
A strong believer in karma (destiny), Sadananda Gowda has again benefited from lady luck. Gowda was catapulted to the chief minister’s post by a political storm that broke out in the aftermath of the Lok Ayukta report on illegal mining.
Thanks to the CBI raids and arrest of Janardhana Reddy, the threat of Sriramulu’s Swabhiman Yatra has blown over, at least for now, as the former health minister has been forced to defer the Yatra.
Sriramulu is now fighting against time to bail out Janardhana Reddy.
The Reddy brigade, which had started cocking a snook at the party high command after they were denied berths in the Sadananda Gowda ministry, is now driven to the wall.
The Reddys desperately need the support of the BJP national leadership at this hour of crisis and the leadership has chosen not to go bullish in defending them, a strategy that would enable the party to rein in the mining barons within the party.
The party national leadership on Monday summoned chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda and state BJP president KS Eshwarappa to Nagpur to discuss the developments and formulate a strategy to tame the Reddys.
Janardhana Reddy’s arrest has dealt a severe blow to anti-Sadananda Gowda camp within the BJP government. The group had pitted Jagadish Shettar against Sadananda Gowda at the trial of strength to elect the successor to BS Yeddyurappa.
Sriramulu’s plans to widen the Reddys’ political base in northern Karnataka by building up loyalty of about 20 to 25 BJP MLAs in the region, has suffered a setback too as the arrest is being seen as the UPA government’s strong message of its determination to liquidate the Reddys’ fiefdom.
