Feel sorry but not surprised at Karnataka loss: Advani

NEW DELHI: BJP stalwart L K Advani on Sunday blamed the debacle in Karnataka on the party's failure to take early action against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, in a forceful intervention which can sharpen the tussle within the party on how to salvage its prospects in the southern state. In an unusually sharp criticism, Advani said the party's refusal to take action against Yeddyurappa was "absolutely opportunistic" and "not at all a minor indiscretion". "I feel sorry that we have lost in Karnataka. But I am not surprised. The surprise would have been if we had won," Advani said on his blog. He said "the course of events would have been quite different" if BJP had immediately taken firm action against corruption under Yeddyurappa. "But for several months, frantic efforts went on somehow to keep placating him by condoning his peccadilloes," the BJP veteran said, adding that the delay was justified on the ground that the party needed to adopt a "pragmatic" approach to save its only government in the south. The public criticism of the leadership's decision to try to keep Yeddyurappa, who was regarded as the only mass leader in the party's ranks in the state, is a confirmation of the sharp division in the party over how to handle the Lingayat strongman who demonstrated his capability by drawing support from close to 10% of the electorate, dealing a body blow to the BJP's prospects. Advani and Ananth Kumar, a long-time factional rival of Yeddyurappa, had pressed for his expulsion, while Nitin Gadkari, the then party chief, counseled patience and tact by pointing to the former CM's clout at the grassroots. Significantly, Advani's criticism of Yeddyurappa comes at a time when the former CM's resilience in the elections looks set to spur many in the party to explore the possibility of a rapprochement. A study of Election Commission's official figures show that the BJP would have finished at least a respectable runners-up if not the single largest formation, and would have stopped Congress from re-taking Karnataka if it had remained united. The combined vote share of BJP, whose tally shrank to 40, and Yeddyurappa, who managed a meagre six seats, exceeded Congress in 77 constituencies. In such a scenario, Congress would have still finished ahead of the BJP with 95 seats, but well short of the majority mark of 113. The analysis of EC's figures also shows that the BJP and Yeddyurappa would have overtaken Congress in 94 seats if they had teamed up with B Sriramulu. A rebel who polled 3% votes -- a smart showing considering that the elections marked the debut of a politician whose strength is limited to Bellary and adjoining regions -- Sriramulu was ready for homecoming. A significant section in the BJP feels that the performances of Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu carry considerable significance for the party's plan for 2014 Lok Sabha elections. BJP, which won 19 seats in 2009, risks ending up with a humiliating two next year if the trend in the assembly elections gets replicated while the Congress stands to win 22. As against this, the party can hope to take its tally to nine if those favouring a saffron reunion prevail. The issue is set to generate considerable debate in the party because of the overwhelming desire in its ranks to finish ahead of the Congress in the 2014 seats tally and because important stakeholders, like Gujarat CM Narendra Modi and RSS, subscribe to the goal.   Source: TOI