Yeddyurappa paving way for Shobha?

While senior party leaders seek his step-down after his name appeared in the illegal mining report, the CM is understood to be holidaying in Mauritius and making provisions to have Shobha step into his shoes

Yeddyurappa paving way for Shobha?

The leak of Lokayukta's final report on illegal mining has given way to a fresh tussle between senior BJP leader L K Advani and Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.u00a0While the patriarch is apparently particular about his removal, the CM is reportedly looking for ways and means to reject the report on the grounds of leakage.

All between friends? The CM is reportedly looking for ways and means
to reject the report on the grounds of leakage. He is also understood
to be trying to push his close friend for the post of CM in case he has
to step down. File Pic

With the party high command sticking firmly to its guns, Yeddyurappa is understood to be trying to push his close friend and cabinet colleague Shobha Karandlaje for the post of CM in case he is left with no choice, but to step down.

Huddle island?
Stoking speculation, Tourism Minister G Janardana Reddy flew to Mauritius to join Yeddyurappa, who is holidaying on the island with his family. "Political activities have shifted to Mauritius with the change of leadership being discussed as the hottest subject in the party circles," said a BJP leader.

"The Reddys are again with Yeddyurappa this time, as it is a win-win situation for both the parties." Janardana rushed to Bangalore from Bellary as soon as reports on leakage of the report were out on Wednesday night. He reportedly tried to call Yeddyurappa and the CM asked him to meet at Mauritius to discuss further plans, which include pushing Shobha for CM.

The BJP was stirred on Wednesday with the media exposing the report, yet to be submitted to the government, naming Yeddyurappa and four ministers in connection with illegal mining in the state.

Cross connections?
While admitting the leakage, Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde claimed that his office telephones were tapped and the needle of suspicion point towards the CM. Hectic parleys took place within the BJP with the absence of party president Nitin Gadkari, who is touring London. During the chaos, senior party leaders including Advani are said to have decided to ask for Yeddyurappa's resignation.

Although the high command is yet to decide on the alternative candidate, Advani is understood to be preferring Law Minister S Suresh Kumar because of his clean image.

Eyeing loopholes
Trying every trick in the book, Yeddyurappa is reportedly seeking expert advice on the possibility of rejecting the Lokayukta report citing leakage. While the government is yet to act on the first report of the Lokayukta on the same issue, the final report has come under cloud with details being leaked to the media.

"It's a serious issue. If the report being prepared by none other than Lokayukta can leak, then what sanctity is left in the investigation. It calls for a serious investigation about the leakage before taking the findings into consideration," said K S Eswarappa, state president of the BJP.

While Advani's camp is not supporting the idea, Yeddyurappa, flanked by the Reddys, is pushing hard. In addition, the friction is apparently reaching flash point.

Leak confirmed
"It looks like a make-or-break situation. This time Yeddyurappa will have to go unless he comes out with a potential strategy," said a source. Meanwhile, Hegde called a press conference yesterday to admit that the leak had indeed occurred. While suspecting that his phones were tapped, he hinted at investigating the eavesdropping. He said he would submit the report is a few days, as it is in the final stage of preparation. As the investigators are giving final touches to the report, the files called for the investigation were returned to the respective departments yesterday.