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Anand Singh, the man at centre of discontent in Karnataka cabinet
Anand Singh, whose decision had led to a juggernaut of sorts that helped the BJP finally realise its efforts to get a chunk of disgruntled legislators from the JD(S)-Congress to quit and defect to the BJP, which eventually formed the government
Bengaluru: On July 1, 2019, former mining baron and Congress legislator from the mineral-rich Ballari district, about 320 kms from Bengaluru, triggered an exodus from the HD Kumaraswamy-led coalition government that eventually led to its collapse.
This former Congress legislator was Anand Singh, whose decision had led to a juggernaut of sorts which helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finally realise its efforts to get a chunk of disgruntled legislators from the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S)-Congress to quit and defect to the BJP, which eventually formed the government.
Though Singh was never portrayed as the catalyst in this episode, he has used this card for the second time in two years to help him land a plum portfolio. First, in the BS Yediyurappa cabinet and now in that of his successor, Basavaraj Bommai.
Singh, who had rubbed shoulders with the likes of illegal mining kingpin Gali Janardhana Reddy, has since seen himself turn “victim” on more than one occasion, the latest being his unhappiness over the portfolio allotted to him in the Bommai Cabinet. He is among the 29 ministers in Bommai’s Cabinet and has been allocated the tourism, environment and ecology portfolio. Singh has even threatened to resign as legislator if Bommai does not give him a better portfolio.
“It is true that I have asked for a change in portfolio and he has taken my request into consideration and has said that he will talk to the seniors in the party and I will stay with him to cooperate,” Singh said on Wednesday night after meeting with the chief minister.
The minister could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Singh’s threat and demand for a better portfolio adds to the mounting challenges of the Bommai-led government which has found itself trying to douse one crisis after another in the two weeks of its existence.
Singh, in the past, has claimed to have got more than his demands when Yediyurappa carved out Vijayanagara as a district from Ballari.
In February last year, Singh had even forced Yediyurappa to change his portfolio from food & civil supplies to forest. Incidentally, there are over a dozen cases of violating the Forest Act in mining, creating a conflict that was clearly overlooked by the BJP.
Singh, who was once seen as a powerful political force, landed in a hospital in January 2019 with grievous injuries after his former aide and Congress colleague Kampli Ganesh allegedly assaulted him in Eagleton resort where the party was trying to keep its MLAs safe from any attempt by the BJP to poach them before the coalitions trust vote.
While Singh and N Nagaraju (MTB) are demanding re-allocation of portfolios, a significant chunk of legislators are also demanding that they be included in the Cabinet after being overlooked to favor those loyal to Yediyurappa.
One set of disgruntled legislators of the BJP have been meeting at former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi’s house while the supporters of several others have been threatening to lay siege the chief minister’s house to get a berth for their MLA.
Supporters of Madikeri (Kodagu) BJP legislator, Apachu Ranjan, have threatened to drive to Bengaluru and “gherao” Bommai’s home for excluding the MLA from the Cabinet despite his seniority.
“Things will fall in place in a few days. There will be some dissatisfaction among those who missed out (on ministerial berths),” one minister said, requesting not to be named.
Though Bommai replaced Yediyurappa as chief minister, the latter has so far had full control over the selection of the Cabinet and rewarding those loyal to him, including the defectors, antagonizing core-BJP legislators who have nursed a feeling of neglect in the last two years.
This was exacerbated when Bommai, who has been in the BJP only for the last 13 years, was named as chief minister over seniors who have been there for much longer and identify with the core ideology of the saffron party.
Bommai himself is under fire over the floods, resurgence of Covid-19, economy and even for meeting JD(S) supremo, HD Deve Gowda within 24 hours of taking oath as chief minister.
Preetham Gowda, a first-time MLA from Hassan district, has questioned the chief minister’s decision to meet the former Prime minister as it would send out a wrong message to the party workers ahead of the Zilla and taluk panchayat elections, expected to be held later this year.
On Thursday, the BJP MLA from Mudigere, MP Kumaraswamy staged a protest against his own party’s government for failing to provide flood relief to people in his constituency, adding to the embarrassment of the new chief minister.
“There are another 18-19 months of our term left and are hopeful of getting a chance (in the cabinet) now,” MP Renukacharya, a BJP legislator said on Thursday after meeting with the party’s senior leadership in Delhi.
Bommai has his hands full. While Singh can be called the catalyst in the first defection drama to instate Yediyurappa in the top post two years ago, his threats to resign is just one of the many hurdles that has kicked up a storm in the Bommai era.
