Afazalpaur Congress MLA Malikaiah Guttedar’s invite to Pawar to visit Karnataka. Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s denial of any deal with Pawar.
Two seemingly unrelated developments on Wednesday give credence to rumours floating in Karnataka’s political circles for some time that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar is eyeing the prime minister’s chair in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. One, Afazalpaur Congress MLA Malikaiah Guttedar’s invite to Pawar to visit Karnataka. Two, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s denial of any deal with Pawar.
Guttedar was in the news not long ago for his desire to join the BJP. The radical shift in Guttedar’s decision and its timing - what with Yeddyurappa sulking over being marginalised by the BJP - has set tongues wagging. On Wednesday, he invited Pawar to visit Karnataka after the ongoing state legislature session to lay the foundation for the NCP in Karnataka. Guttedar is said to have the backing of about 10 Congress MLAs - most of them from northern Karnataka - who see the NCP as an ideal vehicle to chart their political future by projecting it as the best bet for the welfare of farmers in that part of the state.
There have been whispers of a deal between Pawar and Yeddyurappa. Pawar is reportedly on the lookout for a leader who can deliver eight to 10 Lok Sabha seats for him from Karnataka, and Yeddyurappa fits the bill perfectly. But for that to happen, Yeddyurappa has to break away from the party and go his own way. Perhaps sensing trouble, BJP president Nitin Gadkari summoned Yeddyurappa to Delhi and advised him to be “patient”.
Another big fish being eyed by both Pawar and JD(U) national president Sharad Yadav is Sriramulu, who has rebelled against BJP and won the Bellary assembly seat as an independent by a huge margin. A loyalist of the Reddy brothers of Bellary, he holds immense clout in the region. So far, Yadav has taken the lead in wooing Sriramulu.
State JD(U) leaders have already convinced Sriramulu to head to Delhi to meet Sharad Yadav and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar within the next few days. The JD(U) is making a strong pitch for Sriramulu to join the party to revive its fortunes in Karnataka. On his part, Sriramulu, who has announced his desire to launch a regional party, has dropped clear hints of striking an electoral alliance with the JD(U).
The quiet discontent brewing within the Congress, after the grand old party failed to show any sign of revival in the recent by-polls, has only made the likes of Pawar and Yadav drool over prospects of netting a good catch before the next general elections.
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