Kaboom, followed by gloom and doom in Karnataka?

Following the resignation of Mr B S Yeddyurappa, who remains indicted in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining, Karnataka has a new Chief Minister in Mr Sadananda Gowda. This action by the BJP leadership has given the party the opportunity to take a moral high ground in its continued diatribes against the UPA government at the centre. But will the change really make any difference to the aam aadmi in the state?

One must not forget that in politics, the king-maker is more powerful than the king himself. There is already much scepticism that the new CM will only be a puppet in the hands of Mr Yeddyurappa. To be fair to Mr Sadananda Gowda, it is too early to agree with this pessimistic view. But there are already signs that factionalism continues to rive what once claimed to be India’s most disciplined, cadre-based party. Mr Jagadish Shettar and his supporters did not attend the swearing-in ceremony. The state BJP President had no choice but to attend, although he too had cast his lot with Mr Shettar.

Unless the BJP is able to bury these internal differences and there is collective support for the new CM and his council of ministers in taking urgent and visible steps to put Karnataka back on the path to development, it is very likely that the Congress and JD will be able to make political capital of the mis-governance in the months ahead. That could well pave the way for BJP losing its first government south of the Vindhyas- just as the Congress and its allies are unlikely to be voted back to power in the centre, unless Dr Manmohan Singh and his ministers can work a miracle in the next year or so. Assuming, of course, that the government lasts its full term.

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