Yeddyurappa seeks divine help to save his government

Indo-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

BANGALORE/KANNUR/MUMBAI - Facing a threat to his regime, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Thursday sacked two rebel ministers, sought divine intervention and was confident of survival of the Bharatiya Janata Party\’s first government in south India.

Yeddyurappa sacked two ministers belonging to his party, taking the number of rebel ministers shown the door from his 34-strong ministry to six.

He had dropped four ministers — all Independents — Wednesday, hours after they joined 14 BJP legislators, including three ministers, to express lack of confidence in his leadership.

\”The chief minister has recommended to Governor H.R. Bhardwaj to drop state fisheries minister Anand Asnotikar and Municipalities & Local Bodies Minister Balachandra Jarkhiholi from the ministry,\” an official in the Chief Minister\’s Office told IANS.

Asnotikar and Jarkhiholi joined BJP a few weeks after it came to power in May 2008, quitting the assembly and their parties Congress and Janata Dal-Secular, respectively. They won the resulting bypolls on BJP ticket and were rewarded with ministries in July 2008.

The third BJP rebel minister, M.P. Renukacharya, who holds the Excise portfolio, is a two-time party legislator. He was included in the ministry early this year after weeks of dissident activities by him with a group of party legislators.

Last year he had associated himself with mine owners Reddy brothers during their revolt against Yeddyurappa but later switched loyalties and went around saying only Yeddyurappa was his leader.

The beleaguered Chief Minister, who will be seeking the confidence of the house on Oct 11, Thursday prayed at the 11th century Rajarajeswara temple at Taliparamba in Kannur district in neighbouring Kerala.

Yeddyurappa is known to visit temples in south India often. He had prayed at this temple and offered an elephant for the deity in 2008.

As the Chief Minister continued action against rebels and prayed for divine intervention, a group of 12 rebels Thursday flew to Mumbai from Kerala and were holed up at the airport. Their plan to travel to the pilgrim town of Shirdi had to be abandoned owing to security considerations, according to party sources.

Yeddyurappa, who will seek confidence of the house a day earlier than the deadline given by Bhardwaj, told reportes in Bangalore and also at Kannur that he was sure of victory.

\”I am sure that we will be able to bring back those legislators who are now against us. We will win the confidence of the house,\” Yeddyurappa told reporters after offering prayers at the Rajarajeswara temple.

The four Independent ministers sacked Wednesday were Shivaraj S. Tangadagi, agriculture marketing & small scale industries; Venkataramanappa, textile & sericulture; P.M. Narendra Swamy, social welfare; and D. Sudhakar, youth services & prisons.

By late Wednesday, two BJP dissident legislators — B.P. Harish and D.G. Patil — returned to the Yeddyurappa fold, expressing confidence in his leadership.

In a related development, the party\’s state unit president K. Eshwarappa expressed confidence that Yeddyurappa would prove majority on the floor of the house Oct 11.

\”We are confident that the rebels will come back to the fold and stand by Yeddyurappa in this hour of crisis. There are indications that four-five dissident legislators are ready to toe the party line,\” Eshwarappa told reporters in Bangalore.

The revolt has reduced the strength of the Yeddyurappa government to 98 in the 225-member assembly, including one nominated member.

The opposition Congress has 73 legislators and the Janata Dal-Secular 28. The remaining six are Independents.