While the Reddy brothers and Chief Minister Yeddyurappa are clearly the focal points of the Karnataka BJP crisis, it is two women leaders from both camps who have become the talking point in the last few days.

While the Reddy brothers have been campaigning for a change of leadership in the state, it is J Shantha, Bellary MP and sister of Reddy loyalist and state Health Minister B Sreeramulu, who has been most vocal in demanding the ouster of BSY confidante and Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje. Notwithstanding the resolution of the crisis, one is likely to hear more about these women leaders whose rivalry is closely linked to the fissures in the central BJP.

The Karnataka BJP has traditionally been known to have two camps, one led by Yeddyurappa and other by Ananth Kumar. While Ananth has always been close to L K Advani, the present Chief Minister is known to be pretty much his own man. It was Yeddyurappa who made the BJP a brand in rural Karnataka and is probably the only BJP chief minister today who has repeatedly said that he’s not interested in spreading his wings outside Karnataka. Owing to the Advani-Rajnath rivalry, Rajnath Singh threw his lot behind Yeddyurappa once he took over as the party president.

Yeddyurappa’s campaign for the Assembly elections last year was a lesson in the art of political management. Leading from the front, Yeddyurappa criss-crossed the state, and connected with the people on their local needs and aspirations. His election speeches, for instance, would be markedly different in northern districts of the state from what they would be in southern districts, or urban centres like Bangalore . He thus best symbolised BJPs’ vision of a “federal setup” in various states where its chief ministers represented the face of the party.

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