Meet the backroom boys of political parties

By Rajashekara S

B Sreeramulu, R Ashok of the BJP; HD Kumaraswamy, DK Shivakumar for Cong-JD(S) are experienced backroom boys securing numbers for his or her parties


Much ahead of BJP president BS Yeddyurappa was once sworn-in as Karnataka Chief Minister for the third time on Thursday, traumatic efforts had gotten underway to keep him out of workplace. After the early-morning Supreme Court order (the court docket will take the overall call on Friday morning), politicking began in both camps – the BJP is making an attempt to muster through with 104 MLAs of its personal (it wishes 112 for easy majority), and the Congress-JD(S) mix is making an attempt to keep its flock together (all MLAs have been flown to Kerala past due on Thursday night time).

The jury is still out on whether the BJP will be able to rustle up the numbers. But the boys tasked with the task are all old fingers in hotel politics, making the tussle that a lot more intriguing.


HERE’S THE LOWDOWN ON THE BACKROOM BOYS:


B Sreeramulu

The 46-year-old Dalit mascot of the BJP appears to be the party-s go-to guy in any crisis.

He fought for the occasion in Molakalumuru (where his personal occasion candidate was once the incumbent) and in addition took on former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah – and gave him a run for his money – in Badami.

BJP nationwide president had Amit Shah announced that he might be the deputy leader minister if the BJP formed the government.

The Valmiki (Nayaka) community strongman together with pal Janardhan Reddy are mentioned to be working out a technique to achieve out to fence-sitters in the Congress and JD(S). Quite a lot of Congress MLAs are mentioned to be miffed with Siddaramaiah, particularly his resolution to divide the Lingayat-Veerashaiva vote base.

Both Reddy and Sreeramulu are out to do what they did successfully did in 2008 to ratchet up numbers for the minority BJP executive (it had secured handiest 110 seats when it needed 113 at the least). They devised Operation Lotus, a machine remarkable prior to now. Together, they controlled to poach 18 MLAs -- 10 from Congress and 8 from JD(S) -- to stabilise the primary independent BJP executive with Yeddyurappa on the helm.

In the bye-elections that ensued following the resignation of the poached MLAs, BJP bagged 9, JD(S) got 8 and the Congress got again only one. In the tip, BJP greater its power from 110 to 119 in addition to toughen from four independents.

However, quickly after making sure that Yeddyurappa changed into CM in 2008, he and Reddy revolted, whisking away some 60 BJP MLAs to Hyderabad. They have been stored in a hotel forcing Yeddyurappa to envisage to their demands and in effect turning into a weak CM (who allowed the Reddys to have a free run of Ballari).

Popular as the Robin Hood of Ballari, Sreeramulu comes from a land-holding family; even if his father was once a porter with the railways, his mom inherited land from her mom. As health minister in the earlier Yeddyurappa regime, he was once instrumental in launching the massively common 108 ambulance service in Karnataka.

When asked about his role in the numbers recreation, he mentioned on Thursday that the BJP will muster an “unimaginable majority”.


Gali Janardhana Reddy


The occasion discard together with Sreeramulu was once instrumental in BJP taking root in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region but has been maintaining a low profile after Amit Shah mentioned on March 31 that the occasion has nothing to do with Gali. The 51-year-old mining baron is alleged to be again in play – strategizing with Sreeramulu – whilst both his brothers (G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekhara Reddy) are again in the Assembly.


R Ashok

He is the BJP’s Vokkaliga face. Considered to be a shrewd political manipulator, Ashok is alleged to were asked by the occasion management to work in tandem with Sreeramulu in poaching MLAs to cross the ground take a look at.

“I've been assigned another work and didn't attend any occasion meetings,” he advised Bangalore Mirror on Wednesday when asked in regards to the occasion’s strategy. However, he didn't verify if the ‘different assignment’ was once to win over rival occasion MLAs.

Besides operating with the Ballari duo, Ashok may be mentioned to be eyeing a couple of Vokkaliga MLAs from Congress and the JD(S) which is alleged to be a tricky ask for him as the two different experienced political manipulators and Vokkaliga leaders (former leader minister HD Kumaraswamy and former minister DK Shivakumar) have come together.


HD Kumaraswamy


Chief ministerial candidate of the Congress-JD(S) mix, Kumaraswamy was once the primary to announce the counter operation if the BJP tried to poach their MLAs. On May 16, he mentioned that at least 10 to 20 BJP MLAs have been involved with him. “We can even do the same and return the favour to the BJP,” he mentioned.

In the previous, Kumaraswamy had successfully taken 18 MLAs, together with seven ministers in the Yeddyurappa executive, and lowered it to a minority in October 2010. He
had taken these ‘revolt’ MLAs to Chennai, Kochi and Goa ahead of a couple of of them returned to the occasion fold.

Senior Congress leaders admit that Kumaraswamy is in a position to turning the tables in favour of the alliance.


DK Shivakumar


An arch rival of the HD Deve Gowda family who defeated the latter two times on the hustings as an independent and later by fielding a political beginner in Lok Sabha polls, Shivakumar has quite a lot of revel in in maintaining the flock together whenever there is a crisis in several state gadgets of the Congress.

When there was once a terror of poaching of Congress occasion MLAs by the BJP-Shiva Sena mix in Maharashtra, it was once Shivakumar who got here to the rescue of past due Vilasrao Deshmukh in June 2002. He guarded 40 Congress MLAs at Golden Palms Resort and Spa and ensured that the Congress-NCP executive handed the ground take a look at.

Again in July 2017, Shivakumar ferried 42 Congress MLAs from Gujarat where the BJP was once trying to poach them forward of the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha.

These legislators have been stored at Eagleton Golf Resort in Bidadi.

Unperturbed by the income-tax raids at the hotel, on his houses, business associates and family, Shivakumar controlled to keep the flock together. This helped AICC normal secretary Ahmed Patel win the Rajya Sabha polls, and put paid to Amit Shah’s efforts.

A couple of senior Congress leaders mentioned that if both Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar work together, they can unsettle the BJP and be sure that none of their MLAs are grew to become.

Besides strategising, Shivakumar additionally has more than good enough moolah to persuade rival occasion MLAs to change aspects.

BZ Zameer Ahamed Khan


Once a shadow of Kumaraswamy, Khan is thought of as to be a go-getter. He isn't any political strategist, but can stroll away with MLAs from rival parties in full public view. In 2010, he was once on the helm when 18 BJP MLAs defected on the instance of Kumaraswamy. He was once the one that was once making all logistics to ferry legislators. Khan fell out with Kumaraswamy and is now a Congress MLA (and incidentally again with Kumaraswamy due to the alliance).