Bangalore, May 26 (IANS) Karnataka's scandals-scarred, dissidence-riven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government completes four years of its maiden rule in the state next week, depending heavily on its troubled national leadership to stay in power in the final year of its five-year term.
As the party celebrates May 30 the fourth anniversary of its rule in the only southern state it is in power, the greatest consolation for it will perhaps be that it survived the years, though paying a heavy price for its claims of being the 'nation-first' party.
A small relief for the BJP - and the people of Karnataka as well - is that no major scandal has hit the government since August last year when the party forced its first chief minister in the state, B.S. Yeddyurappa, to quit over mining graft charges.
But the party's downhill journey continues unabated as there is no end to dissidence or attempts by Yeddyurappa and his supporters to throw out his successor D.V. Sadananda Gowda who assumed office last Aug 4.
Gowda has managed to survive, falling back on what his party makes fun of as a trademark of the Congress party - high command is seized of the issue and we will abide by its decision.
With the BJP 'high command' caught in its own wrangles, the party's Karnataka problem has become a classic case of buying time and stitching piecemeal deals in the hope that better days, if not better sense, will dawn among the increasing number of 'my way or the highway' leaders in the party.
That the party can have little hope of better sense dawning on its dissident Karnataka leaders out to unseat Gowda is illustrated by the latest row set to rock the party - over illegal mining again.
Gowda is being accused by Yeddyurappa and his supporters of being 'soft' on former state chief ministers S.M. Krishna and N. Dharam Singh of the Congress and H. D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), who are also alleged to have allowed illegal mining during their tenures.
The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) looking into illegal mining in Karnataka had sought the Gowda government's response on whether the allegations against these three former chief ministers call for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
The apex court has ordered a CBI probe into graft charges against Yeddyurappa and his kin on the recommendation of the CEC.
The CEC asked the Gowda government for its stand following a petition to it by a Bangalore-based social activist T.J. Abraham that says a CBI probe is needed to establish the role of the three former chief ministers in illegal mining.
The Gowda government is reported to have not taken a clear stand for or against a CBI probe and left it to the CEC to take a decision on the issue.
The government has not officially made public its response to the CEC. However, Yeddyurappa as well as Abraham claims that the Gowda government has passed the buck to the CEC instead of taking a clear stand.
While Abraham told reporters in Bangalore Friday that he would approach the CEC again challenging the government response, Yeddyurappa demanded that "the chief minister must give the CEC a true picture."
With dissidents set to step up attack on Gowda over the sensitive issue, neither can Gadkari rejoice at getting a second term as BJP president nor can the party celebrate completing four years of its rule that made Karnataka hit the headlines for all wrong reasons.
(V.S. Karnic can be contacted at vs.karnic@ians.in)
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