In a new twist to the Karnataka's BJP crisis, there are worries in the top party leadership that one of them might be behind the revolt by the Reddy brothers.
On Sunday, one faction of the BJP leaked information about the mystery man.
According to the revelations:
- At 12.30 am on October 25 - the mystery man met key rebel Janardhan Reddy.
- At 8.47 am - took a chartered flight, owned by a Congress MLA, to Hubli.
- He then met Karnataka Assembly Speaker Jagdish Shettar, who is representing rebels lead by Reddy brothers.
Top level BJP sources identify the man as Ananth Kumar, the former Union minister.
Meanwhile, those backing Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday met senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj.
Karnataka Speaker Jagadish Shettar also met the man who has been mediating on the crisis, Arun Jaitley and MP Ananth Kumar.
The BJP government in Karnataka spun into a crisis after the Reddy brothers, Janardhana and Karunakara Reddy, demanded Chief Minister Yeddyrurappa's ouster, claiming they have the support of 60 of the BJP's 117 MLAs.
However, Yeddyurappa supporters have told the BJP top brass that if the rebels have the numbers so does the chief minister.
"There will be no change in leadership in Karnataka. We have conveyed to the party leaders," said Sadanand Gowda, BJP Karnataka president.
The action shifted to Delhi after attempts by Arun Jaitley, sent to Bangalore to tackle the rebels, failed.
The rebel Reddy brothers are also continuing to target Yeddyurappa in public.
"Our senior is lying and cheating the people. If I even mention his name this function (Rajyotsav function) will be sullied," said Janardhan Reddy.
The rebels are expected in Delhi on Monday. And there's a faction in the BJP ready to do business with them.
Till Saturday, it was Yeddyurappa vs the Reddy brothers in Bangalore. Now the BJP's Karnataka trouble has arrived in delhi. And worse is the fact that the rift there is threatening to widen the divide between L K Advani and Rajnath Singh.
The first BJP government in South India is in self-destruction mode. The Reddy brothers oppose Yeddyurappa's style of functioning, and want a CM of their choice. This is working along the faultlines in the central BJP.
The Advani camp, that includes Anant Kumar, Venkaiah Naidu and Sushma Swaraj, are opposed to Yeddyurappa. They may support Speaker Jagdish Shettar as the next Chief Minister. But Rajnath and the RSS back Yeddyurappa, who denies there is a crisis.
"There are no differences in Karnataka BJP," said Yeddyurappa.
The BJP cannot encourage or ignore rebels. But one thing seems certain, Yeddyurappa's authority is set to decline, something that may disappoint Karnataka's powerful Lingayat caste and please the Congress.
