“The BJP should become wiser and take a broader view,” the JD(U) sources said. It would also pave the way for a total consolidation of Lingayats behind Yeddyurappa, they said while pointing out that the JD(U) already has some prominent Lingayat faces, including Basvaraj Bommai, son of former chief minister S R Bommai. They recalled that the JD(U) has a rich legacy of Lingayat backing. Though the first Janata Dal chief minister Ramkrishna Hegde was Brahmin, he represented the ascendance of Lingayats. The

other two Janata Dal chief ministers, Bommai and J H Patel, were both Lingayats. The JD(U)’s case is that

the big brother should allow its junior NDA partner to mop up all floating elements to reduce space for the Congress. But even the BJP knows that the JD(U)’s goal is not the welfare of its national ally. Once the JD(U) spreads its wings, it would only get more ambitious.