It all began with a trust vote on the 6th of June, 2008, marking the official start of the first BJP government in south India, in Karnataka, led by BS Yeddyurappa. A man credited with being a work-horse of the BJP in south India, who single-handedly brought focus and purpose to the party in Karnataka. A politician who had gone through the long-haul of state politics, earning his undisputed right to become the first BJP Chief Minister of the party’s first government in South India.

Almost three years later, Yeddyurappa continues his battle with trust votes, thanks to political egos – both within his party, and within the Vidhana Soudha.

But slowly but surely, the longer Yeddyurappa battles on, the more he appears to be turning into a Kannada folk hero. A David who’s taken on one political Goliath after another, and lived to tell the tale. Yeddyurappa has a lot to be thankful for in the naked ambitions of sections within the Congress, and their dogged determination – together with that of the Gowdas – in wanting to see the BJP government fall. After all, there’s only so much your opponents can attack you, before you turn into the underdog whom people begin sympathising with, and rooting for.

Today, what’s happening in Karnataka, is not about governance, or the utter lack of it. It’s not about the many corruption rackets being traced back to Yeddyurappa and his family members. It’s not even about the Bellarybrothers and the mining mafia that’s robbing India of thousands of crores of rupees. It’s not even about constitutional propriety any more, or horse-trading, backroom wheeling-dealings or even political skullduggery. There is no finesse, no sophistication. What we have instead, is embarrassingly

'I have the mandate!'

shoddy and transparent political vindictiveness, and a needless ego battle between Yeddyurappa and Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj. One that has overshadowed all else in Karnataka, including basic governance.

If till last week the BJP was accused of causing irrevocable damage to the brand value of India’s premier IT destination, today the Congress stands accused of  violating the Constitution’s soul, by scheming endlessly to deny Karnataka’s voters of their Constitutional right to governance.

If today, most of the 11 rebel and independent MLAs have ‘voluntarily’ chosen to return to the BJP’s fold, it reflects on their political opportunism and brand of politics. It does not change B S Yeddyurappa’s right to continue as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, or even, of the BJP to govern the state.

It is a pity that the Congress has chosen to engage in a game of base politics, when it has been totally unnecessary. When you’re someone who has party friends like Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has, you don’t really need enemies like Governor HR Bhardwaj.

That’s something the Congress will do well to recognise.