Yeddy, Reddys to attend BJP rally in Davangere

All eyes are on Davangere in Karnataka where Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers -- comprising of state ministers and mining magnates Janardhana Reddy and Karunakara Reddy, accused of being onvolved in the illegal mining scam -- will take part together in a Bharatiya Janata Party-sponsored rally.

The Reddys had expressed their displeasure on Sunday about the lack of support they had been getting from within the party.

There have been a lot of developments in the political circles since the past two days, and rumours are doing the rounds that the state BJP faction led by Yeddyurappa have been in talks with opposition Janata Dal-Secular to form a government together.

What is the real controversy?

BJP insiders told rediff.com that the real controversy between Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers is over the CM's meeting with Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj.

Bharadwaj had told the chief minister to drop the Reddys and their accomplice Sriramulu from the government, since there were several 'serious allegations' against them.

Yeddyurappa during a recent meeting with the Reddys had told them clearly that the governor is hell-bent upon embarrassing the ruling BJP and the government, and thatr they patch up things with him.

The Reddys were, however, adamant and said that they don't need to meet the governor and the matter regarding the disproportionate assets case is pending before the court. Moreover, the governor has refused to give them an appointment.

However, Yeddyurappa is convinced that the meeting should take place and if the Reddys manage to convince the governor to keep quiet, it would be in the interest of the party and the government.

But the Reddys feel that the CM should have stood by them against the governor.

The Reddy brothers, who are holding separate rallies in the state, had expressed their displeasure with the CM. Although they did not spell out in as many words, they did say that the CM was not supporting them. For the sake of public consumption, they just said that the CM had not supported the rally undertaken by them.

The rally at Davangere is expected to bring about some clarity on the war between the two factions. The CM is attending the rally that is sponsored by the party and has nothing to do with the one being undertaken by the Reddys.

'JD-S truck' a counter strike

Sources in the BJP have maintained that the talk of a truck with the JD-S were floated intentionally and have no substance.

The CM's faction did smell a rat and felt that the Reddys would do a repeat of what they had done last year, when a faction led by them spearheaded a movement to ensure the ouster of Yeddyurappa as chief minister.

The CM's camp found itself on the backfoot at that time and did not want to be caught off guard this time around.