Saffron Dreams going sour?

A flurry of developments over the last fortnight reveal that the political chess game in Karnataka is poised to climax. The end goal - of HD Kumaraswamy handing over the baton to his deputy, BS Yediyurappa - is clear, but the endgame is moving towards a different goal, of thwarting the BJP supremo from becoming the head of government.

Even a novice can see the hand of JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda in the recent moves to upstage the BJP. The repeated outbursts of Minister Iqbal Ansari favouring the status quo is a classic example of work-in-progress at DG's residence. The setback to the BJP in the Ullal by-election is another. If the JD(S) had withdrawn its candidate, if it had not created confusion in the minds of the electorate about the smooth transition of power to the saffron party, if it had lent its full support to the BJP candidate who was by all accounts the strongest contender against the Congress, the result could have been in its favour. But it was not to be.

In the Deve Gowda scheme of things, Ullal was merely a battle which he had to lose, to win the bigger war for his son. A defeat for the BJP, and sowing confusion in the ranks would make things hotter for Yediyurappa to become CM, and pave the way for his son to continue his tenancy in the Vidhana Soudha.

Eyeing the chief ministerial gaddi in Karnataka for the first time, the BJP is now caught between two stools. It has to be on the right side of the son, Kumaraswamy, if he has to hand over power to it as agreed to, but at the same time, is under constant attack 24/7 from father, Deve Gowda, whose sole motive is to protect the turf for his son.