From the India Gate: Cabinet berths, risky political manoeuvres and more

HEADS I WIN, TAILS YOU LOSE

Possible cabinet expansions -- both at the Centre and in Karnataka -- are keeping the rumour mills working overtime. None in Karnataka is expecting a berth at the Centre, as four prominent persons are already Union ministers.

But there are many waiting for the call in Karnataka. Shivamogga MP BY Raghavendra or Kalaburagi MP Umesh Jadhav are frontrunners. They are being considered to please former chief minister BS Yediyurappa who represents the dominating Linagayat community.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself is learnt to have told Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai that no move that invites Yediyurappa’s unhappiness would be welcome at this juncture.

Bommai was pitching for Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Aravind Bellad or C P Yogeshwar. An emerging compromise formula aimed at pacifying Yediyurappa is to give his son BY Raghavendra, a Cabinet berth.

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SIDDA VAIDYA

Top political leaders use their clout to ensure safe seats for their kin. But Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah's love for his son Yathindra is urging him to opt for risky political manoeuvres.

After the shocking announcement that he won't contest from Badami of Bagalakote district, Siddaramaiah further raised eyebrows when he said that his preferred seat was Kolar. Between Varuna and Badami, Siddaramaiah would win from the former very easily, and the chances of getting elected from the latter are also high.

Surveys done by the party have termed Kolar as a risky proposition. But Siddaramaiah wants to ensure a second term for his son Yathindra, representing Varuna. And this is why he is opting for Kolar. Badami is quite far from his hometown of Mysore. We know he has a heart of gold, but whether he would strike gold in Kolar needs to be seen.

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UNITY IN DIVERSITY

The Tamil Nadu House stood as one against Governor R N Ravi. As screams of protesting voices raged across, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leadership directed a sudden end to the show. Insiders say the quick u-turn was to avoid the wrath of Delhi.

But there is a deeper strategy that the DMK is playing through this protest. With a view to strengthening it as a formidable force in South India, the DMK is aiming at keeping all opposition parties under its cloak.

The party has already announced that it would contest only 55 per cent of Lok Sabha seats. This leaves many open seats for other opposition parties, including the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) -- two parties who are outside the front now -- as the state prepares for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Apart from this, four Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant also act as tasty carrots.

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NEIGHBOUR’S ENVY

So what prompted Telangana Chief Minister and BRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao to make a political foray into neighbouring Andhra Pradesh? Party insiders hint that he is doing so at the behest of AP CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to weaken the Janasena Party of Pawan Kalyan.

The hunt seems to be winning trophies too. Recent BRS entrants from Andhra Pradesh, Ravela Kishore Babu and Thota Chandrasekhar, are from the Janasena Party. Former BJP chief Kanna Lakshmi Narayana also echoes the same thoughts about BRS entry.

KCR's plan is to rock an alliance being cobbled together by Pawan Kalyan. He thinks that a joint fight can be put up if Janasena, TDP and BJP join hands. KCR is sabotaging Pawan’s attempt to keep the anti-establishment votes together.

If KCR succeeds, it will ensure Jagan's victory once again. But whether they will sink or swim by rocking the opposition boat is a moot point.

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POOR PARTY, RICH CADRES

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee once said that her party only had Rs 47,000 in the bank. But some of her senior party colleagues coughed up crores of rupees in raids by central intelligence agencies.

In recent IT raids, Rs 15 crore was recovered from the possession of TMC MLA Jakir Husain. His alibi was that the money was 'earned' from his business activities. But Husain couldn’t furnish proper sources of income to justify the bounty found on his various premises.

Even TMC seems to have accepted Husain's excuse prima facie. Party spokesman Kunal Ghosh termed the raids a deliberate attempt to stain TMC’s image. "He (Husain) kept the cash to pay wages to his labourers."

Last year, ED had recovered more than Rs 50 crore from the premises of Partha Chatterjee, the then second-in-command in Mamta Cabinet, during raids following an education scam. It's a financial puzzle why the party remains poor in spite of such rich members on the rolls.

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