Cutting the nose to spite the face

M. Gautham Machaiah

BJP’s four time Member of Parliament from Bangalore (South) in Karnataka, Ananth Kumar, appears to be a worried man today. While on the one hand the Congress is contemplating fielding former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna against him, on the other, some of Ananth Kumar’s own party colleagues are set to pull the rug from under his feet.

Ananth Kumar who was the Civil Aviation Minister in the Vajpayee cabinet has been representing this constituency from 1996. A staunch RSS loyalist, he is the moderate and modern face of the BJP in the State.

What today threatens Ananth Kumar is the game of one-upmanship that he and Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa have been playing for over a decade now. Ananth Kumar had an upper hand while he was the Union Minister, while now the wheel of fortune has turned in favour of Yeddyurappa. Many in the Chief Minister’s camp believe this is the best time to clip Ananth Kumar’s wings by ensuring his defeat.

If Krishna is fielded by the Congress, there is every possibility of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Deve Gowda extending direct or indirect support. Though Deve Gowda’s animosity towards Krishna is well known, both belong to the dominant Vokkaliga community.

Gowda has nothing to lose as anyway he does not have a formidable candidate to field from this constituency. But ultimately it is his hatred for the BJP than his love for Krishna that will force the former Prime Minister to bury the hatchet at least for the time being. To make matters worse for Ananth Kumar, some BJP ministers from the Vokkaliga community are said to have extended their tacit support to Krishna.

With daggers drawn from all sides, there seems to be a possibility of Ananth Kumar shifting his constituency to Dharwad, his home district in North Karnataka. But unfortunately for him Dharwad has a large population of Lingayats, the community to which Yeddyurappa belongs.

Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, Ananth Kumar would perhaps be ruing, “God save me from my friends, I can protect myself from my enemies.”

(Picture sourced from: http://www.indian-elections. com)

COMMENTS

Ananth Kumar is a clever politician. I have seen him as a small boy, during emergency. He is a true and honest (?) politician who will convert the situation to advantage. I am sure he will convince Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and also get along with him, since this is election time. If BJP comes to power in the Centre, he is sure to become a Union minister (After all, he is a chela of Advani).

In the interest of our State, it is good that the BJP comes to power in the Centre. What is unfortunate is that at most times we have opposite parties ruling the Centre and the State.

-K.S. Guru Raja, Mysore

Ananth Kumar who is a four time MP and contesting again for the fifth time is sitting pretty in the Bangalore (South) constituency. Out of the eight assembly segments in the constituency, five belong to BJP. Thus, Ananth Kumar’s victory is a foregone conclusion.

In contrast, S.M.Krishna won narrowly in the 2004 Assembly polls in Chamarajpet. His brother's son lost his deposit in Maddur assembly by-poll recently. The popularity chart of both Congress and Krishna is at its lowest. In the event of his defeat in these elections, Krishna will lose even the little credibility that he enjoys now.

-S. Prakash, BJP