With barely a day to go before the much-hyped Lokyukta report on illegal mining, Karnataka has erupted into a hotbed of activity. While Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's rivals are plotting his removal in the wake of his name appearing in the report, the man himself is holding his chair very tight.
Yeddyurappa finds himself alone in this battle -- as he faces his party colleagues, the high command, the Lokayukta and the Governor -- all of who want him to step down.
At the same time, the chief minister has thrown an open challenge to the Lokayukta, questioning the credibility of the report.
"Why was the report leaked? The Lokayukta ought not to have spoken about it before making it public," Yeddyurappa who is in Mauritius told this scribe over telephone.
Earlier he had said that there was no question of him stepping down, while literally rubbishing the report.
Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde however has clarified that this is not a personal battle.
"It does not matter to me who steps down or not. Let the guilty be punished. I am not really expecting the state government to do anything, and I feel only the Supreme Court can do something about this," he said.
The Congress meanwhile has raised its pitch ahead of this report. They have however heaved a sigh of relief as the report does not mention the names of former Chief Ministers S M Krishna and N Dharam Singh. The Lokayukta had said that the report does not deal with that period.
The real trouble for Yeddyurappa is however from his party workers who have already written to the high command seeking his removal. The likes of Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar, state party chief K S Eshwarappa and Transport Minister R Ashok are in waiting to grab Yeddyurappa's coveted chair.
Yeddyurappa has however made it clear that the chair can only be occupied by Energy Minister Shobha Karandlage and no ne else. He also has said that if this change is made then he should be made the party president, a formula which his rivals have trashed.
A source from the rival camp said that the more Yeddyurappa sticks on, the more the image of the party gets tarnished.
However, it is not easy for the high command to remove Yeddyurappa unless he is pacified and his terms agreed upon. He is literally a one man show and enjoys the clout of more than half the members of legislative assembly in the party who say he is the face of the party.
Any hasty move by the high command could seal the fate of the party as the party would split.
The CMs legal team has advised him not to quit as it would give an indication that he is guilty. He has been advised to challenge the report and wait and see what the judiciary decides. A source said that his team has advised him that an independent inquiry is not good enough to topple a CM.
The ball is surely in the CM's court, but one will have to wait and see what he does next.
