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ShareThe open rebellion of ministers G Janardhan Reddy and Karunakar Reddy against Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa has shown that even an apparently cohesive and disciplined unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not immune to the dangers of factionalism. The Reddy brothers -- mining magnates from Bellary -- claim that they command the support of about 60 of the 117 party legislators in the rebels' camp. They want assembly speaker Jagadish Shettar to replace Yeddyurappa. Party senior leader Arun Jaitley, unable to resolve the crisis in Bangalore on his two-day visit, returned to Delhi and the rebels followed him. They want to press their case with the central leadership in the national capital.
Compared to the denouement of a veritable political crisis in the BJP in Bangalore, the resignation of minister Konda Surekha from the cabinet of Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah with the clear intention of pushing the case of YS Jaganmohan Reddy -- son of late YS Rajasekhara Reddy -- to be chief minister is rebellion in a minor key. Here too, senior Congress leader and the person in charge of Congress in Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily, who is also Union law minister, put on a brave face and dismissed the development as of not much consequence. There has been a vocal demand to make Jaganmohan Reddy chief minister soon after the tragic death of YSR in a helicopter crash in September but the Congress central leadership has managed to parry the demand.
Whatever may be the outcome of the fortunes of Yeddyurappa and Rosaiah, what is clear is that both national parties the BJP and the Congress, face an uphill task of keeping the men and women in their respective organisations in place and in order. The demands of being in power have led to convulsions in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The stakes are high and power-hungry folk are not averse to break rules to grab the top post.
Breaking rank and using money power is considered legitimate to achieve personal goals. The rot goes deep and it has spread to every party. The communist parties appear to be the honourable exception. Political parties need to be rule-abiding and stable organisations for meaningful democratic governance. That is why, the inner goings on of these political parties do not just raise eye brows but are a cause of concern and worry to
citizens at large.
