No more hospital stay; Yeddyurappa goes back to jail

Vicky Nanjappa unravels the reasons behind former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa's decision to leave the comforts of the hospital and head to prison

Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who was arrested in connection with a land scam case on Saturday and promptly hospitalised due to "chest pain", was finally discharged on Wednesday.

As he reached the Central Prison in Bangalore after his discharge, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader declared that he was upset that the media was making a mockery out of his illness and hence he preferred being in jail.

But according to sources, Yeddyurappa decided to leave the hospital and return to jail after his legal team warned him that continuous hospitalisation on a flimsy pretext might damage his case further.

Yeddyurappa, who was shifted to the Parapana Agrahara prison after he surrendered in court on Saturday evening, was hospitalised on Sunday morning.

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Doctors at Jayadeva Hospital decided to keep him under observation for 48 hours, at the end of which they told him that there was nothing wrong with him. Yeddyurappa immediately decided to move himself to another hospital after complaining of depression.

His legal team warned him that this tactic to avoid jail time may prove costly. The medical tests conducted at the hospital proved that there was nothing wrong with him and it would be tough to prove that he was suffering from depression in a court of law.

The legal team also took strong exception to the fact that the former CM continued to meet people in the hospital, including current CM Sadananda Gowda, cabinet ministers and religious figures.

This social hobnobbing conveyed the impression that Yeddyurappa was trying to throw his weight around.

The legal team felt that the BJP leader couldn't claim to be seriously ill and also receive dozens of visitors at the hospital.

Yeddyurappa has been consulting his legal team before taking any step since he was sent to judicial custody. In fact, he had surrendered in court as per the advice of his lawyers.

It is crucial for the court to have a favourable impression of Yeddyurappa when they hear his bail plea, said a member of his legal team.

The hearing of Yeddyurappa's interim bail plea is slated for Thursday at the Karnataka high court. The complainants, who are the respondents in this case, are expected to object to his bail and may take up to a week to file their objections.

Yeddyurappa may contend that he is seeking interim bail, which should be granted on the grounds of urgency.

Yeddyurappa, who is apprehensive about his clout fading within the party, obviously wants to get out of prison as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the BJP high command is monitoring the political developments in Karnataka closely. They don't want any of Yeddyurappa's actions to affect the ongoing rath yatra by L K Advani.

The BJP, which has taken on the Congress on the issue of corruption, perceives the Yeddyurappa incident as a major roadblock in this campaign.

In fact, right before he surrendered, Yeddyurappa had spoken with Advani. The BJP patriarch had advised him that instead of letting the Lokayukta police arrest him, he should surrender before the court.