Bengaluru: Senior BJP leader and Cabinet Minister B. Sriramulu continues to fall down the pecking order in the party and government.
In a minor reshuffle Monday with major repercussions for Sriramulu, he was shunted out of the health ministry and divested of the Backward Class Welfare Department. He has been handed charge of the social welfare portfolio.
Sriramulu has been replaced in the health ministry by Medical Education Minister Dr K. Sudhakar, a Congress rebel who is also in charge of the state’s daily Covid-19 operations.
The two leaders had been at loggerheads ever since the pandemic struck, over the handling of the crisis. While Sriramulu was in-charge of the health department that should technically handle the crisis, Sudhakar is a doctor.
Sources in the BJP said that the differences between the two contributed to the reshuffle.
“One reason behind this decision was that the high command was quite unhappy with Sriramulu’s performance during the pandemic,” said a party source.
“They found themselves in an embarrassing situation every time Sudhakar and Sriramulu were at loggerheads and trying to outdo the other.”
This, however, is the second major setback for the leader under this Yediyurappa government. In December last year, Sriramlu had threatened to quit if he or any other tribal leader weren’t appointed as deputy chief minister. The BJP stood firm and rode out the crisis.
But the opposition and some in the BJP warn that the party is playing with fire in continually sidelining the cabinet minister.
Congress spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa said the BJP has been taking his popularity for granted.
“The BJP is repeatedly asking for trouble by treating him badly. If you have six-seven ministers looking into his portfolio, won’t it affect performance? He should have been given a free hand and he would have done it well,” Kalappa told ThePrint.
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A mass tribal leader
Sriramulu is the tallest BJP leader from the tribal Nayaka community, which constitutes close to 6 per cent of Karnataka’s population.
Such is his influence that the BJP was even willing to overlook his decision to quit the party in 2011 and float the BSR Congress. He merged it with the BJP again in 2013.
“Just as the Kuruba community accept Siddaramaiah as their leader, Lingayats accept Yediyurappa as their leader, Vokkaligas accept Deve Gowda as their leader, the Nayaka community accepts Sriramulu as their leader. He is more relevant than any other Valmiki leader in the state,” political analyst Mahadev Prakash explained to ThePrint.
The Nayaka community has a presence in over 10 districts across Karnataka and a significant influence over the vote share during polls. These districts include Ballari, Raichur, Chitradurga, Koppal, Gadag, Mysuru, Chamarajanagara, Kolar, Davangere and Tumakuru.
“Do not underestimate Sriramulu and his relevance to Karnataka’s politics. A Nayaka mass leader, his breakaway party BSR Congress won four seats of the 150 it contested in the 2013 elections. What does it say of his influence?” asked a BJP leader.
Indispensable during elections, the party had fielded him against former Congress CM Siddaramaiah in the Badami constituency in the 2018 polls. Sriramulu also contested from Molakalmuru and won but lost at Badami by a very thin margin.
He is easily accessible and often seen mingling with his voters. “The Nayakas enmasse support Sriramulu and will back him as long as he is in politics,” said another senior BJP leader who has closely worked with him in his home turf of Ballari.
A leader under fire
A section of BJP leaders told ThePrint that there has been a marked change in Sriramulu’s politics in the past few years.
“He is losing his hold and also becoming weaker in the party. Apart from the fact that he is a Nayaka leader, he is of not much consequence in BJP’s bigger scheme of things,” said a third BJP functionary. “Many don’t like his style of working now. It is not just about being powerful, the BJP is also looking for those who deliver results.”
Sriramulu has been nursing the dream of being made Karnataka’s deputy chief minister, a promise that Yediyurappa has not yet followed through. While campaigning for the 2018 assembly elections, Yediyurappa had publicly announced that Sriramulu will be made deputy CM if the party came to power.
“When Yediyurappa campaigned in 2018, he stated that Sriramulu would be made a DyCM. He did not make this statement about any other candidate. Why did they not give it to him?” said Kalappa.
A Ballari-based associate of Sriramulu warned that the minister is not afraid to take tough decisions. “He will not hesitate to take stern decisions if he is not made deputy CM or snubbed like this.”
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It would be best if he doesn’t just fade but disappears from politics. He is incompetent, and wrecked the fight against Corona in Karnataka. At least now, health ministry is in the hands of a doctor who can understand what is happening. People like Sriramulu are surviving only because of their caste card.