Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Aug 9: As per information, national president of BJP Amit Shah has not poured cold water on belligerence of the state level BJP leaders, who were eager to launch 'Operation Lotus' in the state in an attempt to topple the coalition government here. Reportedly, Shah is convincingly confident about the success of this operation in Karnataka. But instead of speaking about it openly, he has begun the homework , as per reports.

It is learnt that Shah has sought a list of dissident Congress and JD(S) leaders who are prepared to cross over to BJP or support the party from outside. This issue also came up for discussion during the visit of state BJP president and leader of the opposition in the assembly, B S Yeddyurappa, to New Delhi, on Tuesday. Yeddyurappa is believed to have given the names of Congress leaders, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, B C Patil, and others who are in contact with the BJP leadership.

Shah, who gave Yeddyurappa a patient hearing, expressed the view that trying to unseat the government without proper reasons can sully the reputation of the party. He also opined that it would be better if the party waits for some sort of misunderstanding to arise as a result of ministry expansion between the leaders of other parties. Before saying anything else in the matter, he sought a list of at least 25 legislators from other parties who are prepared to fight against the current government.

Shah seems to be taking every step carefully in the light of the experience the party had immediately after the election when BJP was invited to form the government. It is believed that he wants to keep an eye on the moves of the dissidents from other parties based on the list provided by the BJP, and make an effort to defeat the government once the party is confident that it has hundred percent chance of winning the confidence vote. There is also a thinking that during the Lok Sabha elections, many disgruntled leaders from Congress and JD(S) might support the BJP, in which case the party will have enough strength to establish clear majority.

A list of leaders who are eager to cross over to BJP, which reportedly has since been submitted to Shah, contain the names of former ministers, A Manju and Cheluvarayaswamy, former legislators, H C Balakrishna and K N Rajanna and MLC, Puttanna. The party is also said to be considering the pros and cons of enticing H C Balakrishna or Puttanna to join BJP and field them from the rural Lok Sabha constituency here as a BJP candidate.