Karnataka assembly polls: BJP counting its chickens before they hatch?

Deputy CM in the offing

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced a chief minister for Karnataka — B S Yeddyurappa — should they win the election. But the latest is a demand that the party name a deputy chief minister. That person is an MP from Bellari constituency, B Sriramulu. The group pushing for this argues that this will be helpful for the BJP in wooing tribals and Dalits, for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Sriramulu, whose name was in the first list of 72 candidates from the party, has been asked to contest from Molakalmuru (Chitradurga) constituency. By giving the ticket to Sriramulu, the party leadership has overruled its policy of not fielding MPs, except chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa, in the Assembly elections. Sitting MLA from Molakalmur S Thippeswamy has not hidden his resentment at being displaced. So it could be a case of counting chickens before they are hatched.

Dharmic clarification

Putta Sudhakar Yadav, who has been named the new chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust Board, has had to clarify at a press conference that he is not a Christian. “I am cent per cent Hindu. I have been conducting dharmic (religious) activities. Hence, my name has been considered,” he said, adding, “being a politician, I have only attended a Christian function as a chief guest.” His clarification came in the wake of a storm on social media that the government was appointing a non-Hindu for the top post at the TTD. Some Hindu organisations objected to his appointment on the grounds that he was a Christian.