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Hegde to resign and return to Karnataka

A Special Correspondent in Bangalore

Union Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde will resign next month and return to Karnataka to lead his fledgling Lok Shakti party in the assembly elections scheduled to be held in December.

A thoroughly embarrassed Hegde finally gave in to the demand of party workers at the second anniversary celebrations of Lok Shakti.

"I can only say that I will do whatever you wish," he said.

Lok Shakti is already projecting him as the next chief minister of Karnataka.

Hegde's reluctance to make a categorical statement about returning to Karnataka politics was largely because of concern for his friend, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

"I have to think of the national implications. At the present juncture, I don't want to cause any problems for the coalition," he told Rediff On The NeT.

Hegde is slated to tour Karnataka in March. His resignation will probably follow soon thereafter.

But Hegde did not hesitate to say that the national agenda for governance, which was prepared by all the coalition partners, has been transgressed or violated by the Sangh Parivar, though not so much by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Unfortunately for the country, we have not been able to work as per the agenda. Maybe, we could have earned the sobriquet of a good government like Morarji Desai's government in 1977. That fell because of internal differences, but performed well," Hegde said.

The same thing, he said, is happening to the BJP-led coalition. Pinpricks are expected from opposition parties, not from frontal organisations of the party leading the coalition.

"I repeat my old question. Let them say they don't want the Vajpayee-led BJP coalition in government. The choice they have is the Congress. Otherwise, let them stop these activities. This country does not belong to any one religion," he said, referring to the Gujarat, Orissa and Bihar incidents.

Later, replying to questions from reporters, Hegde said "matters which are not consistent with the agenda come up. I cannot answer your question whether the BJP is unable to control the frontal organisations. But I do know that both BJP president Kushabhau Thakre and Prime Minister Vajpayee have very strongly advised them not to raise such issues."

Hegde appeared quite bitter about the attacks on minorities by the Sangh Parivar. He made it clear that there is no place in Lok Shakti for people who believe or indulge in social or religious discrimination of any kind. He also appeared upset by the attitude of BJP politicians in Karnataka.

"Leaders of the BJP may be thinking they can win the election on their own. It is not possible for any party to do so in the present situation. If they are holding that view, we need not beg them. We are not in that situation," he said.

The former chief minister is clear that Lok Shakti is prepared to continue its electoral alliance with the BJP, which walked away with 16 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka exactly a year ago. "But this will be on an equal basis. If they don't like it, we will say namaskara [goodbye]," he said.

Clearly, Hegde is setting the agenda for the BJP in Karnataka. He plans to tour the state next month, and after he quits, will let one of the other two Lok Shakti MPs occupy a ministerial post at the Centre.

All indications are that Hegde will feel the pulse of the people before sitting down for talks with his alliance partner. But the BJP in Karnataka appears to have two opinions about going with Hegde to the polls.

One section does not want the party to have anything to do with him. "He is looking for a chariot because his party is organisationally weak. Why we should we provide it to him? He will have the cake and eat it too," said one representative of this section.

The other section feels that a small number of seats should be given to Lok Shakti to curb its growth. "If we are going to come to power, let us use him," this section believes.

Hegde holds a very unusual position in the state. He is one politician who is recognised all over the state and holds sway in north Karnataka, heartland of the Lingayat community. Large sections of this politically significant group regard him as their leader because there is none from their community, regardless of party affiliation, who has been able to replace the late Veerendra Patil.

Patil brought the Lingayat vote back from the erstwhile Janata Dal to the Congress in 1989 after former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's supporters brought about the collapse of the Dal government.

But after Patil's removal from the chief ministership by Rajiv Gandhi, the disillusioned community went over to the BJP in the 1991 Lok Sabha election. Hegde brought it back to the Janata Dal in the 1994 assembly election.

In fact, Hegde's expulsion from the Dal led to several towns and cities in north Karnataka observing spontaneous bandhs (strikes). This will be one area that Hegde will tour to test his popularity before talking to the BJP about sharing seats.

"Practically everyone will be watching that tour, the Congress as well as the Janata Dal. He will be setting the agenda for the elections, you know,'' said a senior Janata Dal minister.

EARLIER REPORT:
Hegde plans to return to Karnataka politics

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