Yeddyurappa, Deve Gowda set to become political bedfellows?

Post Lokayukta cop transfer row, the archrivals have purportedly buried the hatchet and are working to stall probe into land scams; Kodimatt pontiff predicts split of BJP as Yeddy buys excuses to skip Bellary bypoll campaign

Yeddyurappa, Deve Gowda set to become political bedfellows?

The controversy over sudden transfer of Lokayukta ADGP Jeevan Kumar B Gaonkar, who had been probing cases against B S Yeddyurappa and H D Deve Gowda's sons, is likely to spring an unusual political surprise
by making archrivals Yeddyurappa and the JD (S) supremou00a0 political bed-fellows.

u00a0
JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda is reportedly mulling a multiple
party coalition. He is trying to convince B S Yeddyurappa and
B Sriramulu to float their own political outfits

According to political observers, speculations are rife that the warring titans may bury the hatchet and plan to forge an alliance, albeit unnatural, to protect themselves and their kin from Lokayukta investigations.

So what prompted the government to issue transfer orders of Gaonkar?

It all started with a letter written by the IPS officer to Upa-Lokayukta Justice S B Majjagi and chief secretary S V Ranganath accusing Deve Gowda of threatening him for investigating a graft case against his eldest son H D Balakrishne Gowda.

Clearing the government's stand on the move, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda yesterday said, "Goankar was transferred in response to his request. He had asked for the transfer after Deve Gowda called him. Apparently it embarrassed the officer. We just obliged to his request. The move is not at all politically motivated."

According to BJP sources, the government took the step due to Yeddyurappa's intervention in the matter and asked to go easy on the Gowdas.

"First, Deve Gowda instigated Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj to file corruption cases against Yeddyurappa and when the latter retaliated by unearthing graft cases against Deve Gowda's sons, he helplessly held out an olive branch to the scam-tainted BJP leader.

Now, they seem to have settled for a truce and are working in tandem to keep the scam stains at bay. Of course, this unusual show of bonhomie by the JD(S) supremo and the BJP's disgraced heavyweight may be just the harbinger of an imminent alliance of opportunism between them," said a source.

After H D Kuamraswamy, former chief minister and Deve Gowda's son, got an anticipatory bail in the High Court in an illegal mining case and eventually got the case quashed, things started easing out for Yeddyurappa. The former chief minister got bail in two cases of land scam and was released from the judicial custody.

Last week, MiD DAY had reported how the Lokayukta police were feeling jittery following Yeddyurappa's release. The report also focused on how the cops feared mass transfers and punishment postings for officers probing the cases against him.

As was expected, H N Sathyanarayana Rao replaced Gaonkar as the ADGP. Besides, Arun Chakravarthy was brought in as the deputy inspector general of the Lokayukta. Both the police officers are known to be Yeddyurappa's men with controversial track record.

According the sources, the JD (S) supremo is mulling a multiple party coalition that would rule the state. He is reportedly convincing B Sriramulu and Yeddyurappa to float their own political outfits.

Will the BJP split?
The rumours of splitting of the BJP got a seal of faith yesterday when the pontiff of the famed Kodimatt predicted, "The BJP will split into three parts and a multi-party coalition will rule the state."

Adding fuel to the fire of speculations, Yeddyurappa announced that he would not campaign for the BJP in Bellary (Rural) by-poll. "For some unavoidable reasons, I am not going to Bellary, but our leaders will campaign there. I am sure the BJP will win the election," he said.

Working covertly
Sriramulu is contesting the polls as an independent candidate with the backing of the JD(S). And according to sources in Bellary, Yeddyurappa's supporters are also working covertly to ensure Sriramulu's victory.

Seeking to clear air on Yeddyurappa's participation in the election campaign, Sadnadananda Gowda said, "Yeddyurappa will campaign for the BJP in Bellary. We will hold a meeting of our election campaign committee and chalk out plans for the campaign. Yeddyurappa, K S Ewsarappa and I will campaign together in Bellary."

While the chief minister was trying to paint a rosy picture of the party by ruling out any in infighting, Yeddyurappa held a closed door meeting with his supporters in Hubli to chalk out plans for his proposed statewide tour and a public rally in the city aiming to consolidate his support base.

And the political observers, who have been predicting a political upheaval after the Bellaray (Rural) by-poll, do not rule out the possibility of a mid-term poll.u00a0But, Sadananda Gowda discounted the speculation. " There is no problem for the government and I will complete the term," he said.