Why BJP is singing SM Krishna bhajan in Karnataka
In February 2011, SM Krishna, the then India's foreign minister, read out the speech of his Portugal counterpart at a meeting at the United Nations. Five years later, the suspicion is that he is reading out the script written by the BJP.
Last week, Krishna called off his 46-year-old association with the Congress. It was surprising since there was no fresh provocation for the veteran leader to walk out. The snub he recounted dated back to 2012 when he was unceremoniously dropped as external affairs minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. The grouse he carried would at best be Karnataka-specific where despite his several complaints against the state leadership, the high command has persisted with Siddaramaiah.
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| Krishna called off his 46-year-old association with the Congress last week. |
What then is Krishna's game plan? At 84, clearly he is past his prime to be Arjuna either in the Congress or the BJP. But he must be more than flattered that he is still being made to feel that he is wanted by the political ecosystem in Karnataka. While the Congress has asked him to reconsider his decision, the BJP has invited Krishna to the party. But the former chief minister has so far held his cards close to his chest.
The BJP will be pleased to see the manner in which Krishna's exit has upset the Congress. Not that his going public with his grievances is a body blow to the party in electoral terms. But it creates a perception that it is not the party of choice even for its very own. The fall guy is likely to be Siddaramaiah, who will be seen as a chief minister unable to take colleagues along. Already B. Janardhana Poojary has slammed the chief minister, blaming him for Krishna's exit.
Krishna's exit comes on the back of senior Dalit leader Srinivas Prasad bidding goodbye and joining the BJP. That he did so after making his displeasure against Siddaramaiah clear is important. Another disgruntled leader who may be the next to move out could be popular film star Ambareesh who till June last year was housing minister in Siddaramaiah's team. He hails from Mandya and is referred to as "Mandyada Gandu" (Mandya's man), also because he had starred in a 1994 Kannada film by the same name and the popular title song is a number still hummed by every Mandya resident.
Is there a pattern in this? Of course, the geographical imprint of this "quit Congress movement" is rather apparent. All of them — Prasad, Krishna, Ambareesh —hail from the old Mysuru region, a patch the BJP is not very strong in. If Krishna and Ambareesh end up having a relationship with the BJP — formal or informal — it will only help its cause. Even if they do not join the BJP, an aggressive campaign could wean away crucial votes from the Congress.
The intention is to hurt Siddaramaiah where it hurts the most because he too hails from the same patch. He is already facing a threat from the Vokkaliga-dominant JD(S) of Deve Gowda and a strong BJP could make every assembly contest a touch-and-go affair, forcing him to rework his caste matrix focus.
Apart from the perception factor, the BJP also gains by reducing the Karnataka Congress more into a Siddaramaiah outfit. It is a known fact that the CM is not exactly the most popular leader in the party because he is still seen by many as an import from the JD(S) and takes his own decisions. Also, many younger leaders in the party have been Krishna's protégés at one point in time and would not be able to take on their political mentor.
But does it benefit the BJP by wooing over-the-hill Congress veterans one year before Karnataka goes to polls? The answer to that perhaps lies in BJP's own internal problems. Karnataka unit chief BS Yeddyurappa and former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa do not see eye to eye. The latter has been organising caste-based events to consolidate his own position and cock a snook at Yeddyurappa's leadership. The former CM realises that 2018 will be last hurrah in Karnataka politics and he needs to sign out on a high.
The attempt to recruit from the Congress camp could well be an insurance policy against Eshwarappa and also keep the media focus away from trouble in the BJP's backyard.
But at the end of the day, does Krishna even gain anything? At best, he could be offered a Raj Bhavan posting, something the Congress cannot get him now. That is no big deal given that he has served as Maharashtra governor between 2004 and 2008. Speculation is rife that the outburst and resignation could also be linked to his family's business interests. The manner in which Krishna has exited in a hurry gives rise to suspicion that there is more than what meets the eye.
But what Krishna, who as CM in 1999-2004 played a significant part in increasing Bengaluru's profile as India's Silicon Valley, has done is to ensure that the political natakas in election-bound Karnataka, are not short on dramatic theatrics.