Can Sriramulu queer the pitch for CM Gowda?

BSR Party chief Sriramulu has claimed that he has the support of over 20 BJP MLAs. He would need just ten MLAs from the BJP to cross vote in order to defeat Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda in the Karnataka legislative assembly polls, reports Vicky Nanjappa.

Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who faces an election in the Karnataka legislative assembly on December 22, will be up against the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) and former Karnataka minister B Sriramulu, all plotting his defeat.

Gowda, who became the chief minister with the blessings of former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, is a member of Parliament. However, he will now have to be elected as a member of the legislative council in order to continue as chief minister.

There have been hectic back door meetings to ensure that Gowda is defeated in the council polls. Gowda requires 113 votes in order to win the election. If the Bharatiya Janata Party with 120 MLAs remain united, Gowda won't have a problem. The JD-S has decided to support Congress candidate G Anand and have got support from B Sriramulu, who quit the BJP to float his own Badavara Shramikara Raithara party.

For Gowda, the problem is not the Congress and the JD-S, as they don't have the numbers to defeat him despite their joint effort. The problem, however, is Sriramulu, who has claimed that he has the support of over 20 BJP MLAs. Sriramulu claims that these MLAs were ready to cross over whenever he asks them to. Sriramulu would need just ten MLAs from the BJP to cross vote in order to defeat Gowda. The big question, however, is whether Sriramulu will be able to get these ten MLAs to vote against Gowda.

Sriramulu has said in public that he has no intention of creating any rift within the BJP. "I am not going to pressurise anyone to vote against Gowda. I have no intention of telling anyone to violate the rules and regulations in the house and it is entirely up to the MLAs who they want to vote for," Sriramulu said.

But the Congress and the JD-S are hoping that Sriramulu could work his magic and get at least 10 MLAs out of the BJP for this election. However, there are just three MLAs at the moment who will stand by Sriramulu and that is no secret, as these three MLAs had openly identified with him during the recently concluded Bellary by-election.

The BJP appears to be very confident and have said that no one would stab them in the back as it would result in them losing their membership. Also, standing by Sriramulu would mean identifying with Bellary's Reddy brothers, which would seem suicidal at this point in time, thanks to the number of cases against them.

However, the BJP is not taking matters lying down. The next ten days are extremely crucial as the opposition is plotting hard. Although the BJP may say that Sriramulu has just three loyalists, they are worried about the five independent candidates who could swing any way. These five MLAs have caused enough problems for the BJP in the past and could well pose a threat this time.

If Sriramulu manages to get these five MLAs and also gets his three loyalists to vote against the BJP, Gowda would have 112 votes and fall short by one vote. This would be extremely close, which may force BJP to look for a new chief minister.

There is also talk that some in the Yeddyurappa faction may want a shake up on December 22 and in case this happens it would mean that the BJP would have Yeddyurappa back in the hot seat. However, some in the BJP say that this is loud thinking and the existing situation would continue with no problem at all. No one within the BJP wants any problem as of now and they are more interested in retaining their memberships and completing the remainder of their term with no reorganisations.