Karnataka and its shameless chronicle of 'resort-politics'

Late last year, when Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa had to quit for his alleged involvement in illegal land deals and mining, he took 60 legislators under his sweet custody at a super swank resort on the outskirts of Bangalore to ensure that his nominee Sadananda Gowda became his successor.

In less than six months, Yeddy is shepherding them again to (perhaps the same) resort to ensure that Gowda is booted out and he is reinstated.

If the stalemate continues, the MLAs will be moved from resort to resort and even city to city, as we have seen time and again in the past.

Karnataka MLAs have been in and out of resorts, planes and luxury buses for a few years now. We have seen it in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and now. Some times, it involves long gestation periods, road or air trips and inter-state city-hopping as well.

And their favourite cities? Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Goa.

Pioneered in Andhra Pradesh by showman-politician NT Ramarao in the 1980s and, practiced mostly in Karnataka, this “resort-politics” is the most open and vulgar evidence of horse trading in Indian politics, and the politicians’ complete disregard for public opinion. That too when there is increasing call for public probity.

It is old fashioned and too openly dirty in an aspiring modern state like India.

When MLAs, who count as votes in the assembly in a crunch situation, are kept in de facto house-arrest so that they are not lured by the opposition, by cash or kind, is a virtual admission of horse-trading, or buying off, of legislators. But the parties involved, and their central leadership, are absolutely shameless. They do it again and again.

Now, it is the BJP doing it again and its central leadership might be putting together some catch-phrases to wriggle out before Yeddy’s deadline runs out.

Team Anna Hazare can add one more example to their list to slam dirty politicians.

That such a flagrant display of audacity and gumption happens in the face of increasing transparency and accountability in the country, particularly with the courts and citizenry showing extra vigil, is a terrible commentary on the state of our politics and politics, particularly in Karnataka. Not that it hasn’t happened in other states, but in Karnataka it’s happening with predictable frequency and periodicity.

Unless proved otherwise, for every episode of resort-politics, the MLAs concerned are getting substantial benefits. In October 2010, ahead of a crucial trust-vote against the BJP government, Karnataka MLAs were busy city and resort hopping.

When 18 of its MLAs withdrew support to the government, the party took its legislators to resorts in Chennai, Kochi and Goa, finally ending up in a resort in the outskirts of Bangalore. The Congress and JD(S) also kept their MLAs in virtual resort-custody.

The evidence for material exchange came in the form an audio-tape released by BJP in which former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy was allegedly heard offering a cabinet berth to a possible dissident MLA, Appachu Ranjan.

Reports then had indicated a virtual auction between the Bellary Reddy brothers and Kumaraswamy over 13 MLAs in Goa. A year earlier, one of the Reddy brothers, Tourism minister Janardhana Reddy took a bunch of MLAs to different cities evading the hawk eyes of Yeddyurappa in an unsuccessful bid to topple the latter.

If one looks at the history of resort-politics in the state, it can be traced all the way back to 2004 and since then it was repeated at least five times.This is also the time when Bellary money started operating in the state’s politics.

Last year’s resort-politics, when Yeddy wanted Gowda to succeed him, had reported a funny spectacle. While Yeddy had parked his MLA at a particular resort, the BJP state president KS Eswarappa, who was batting for his favourite Jagadish Shettar, also reached there with his 25 MLAs. Reportedly “wild offers” started floating. Finally, Yeddy MLAs were shifted out to a more luxurious resort. Gowda won.

Although the obscenely excessive flow of money, mostly from its mines, saw its repeated use in Karnataka, the state politicians should thank NT Rama Rao for the innovative idea. In August1984, when Rama Rao was removed by the then Andhra Pradesh Governor Ramlal as the chief minister, he camped out with his supporters in a resort outside the state.

Rama Rao sheltered his supporters for a month to ensure that they are not bought over by his rivals. Finally, he was reinstated. Whether by coincidence or not, the place that Rama Rao chose to house his MLAs was a resort in Karnataka. Subsequently in 2002, the state also hosted Congress MLAs brought by Vilasrao Deshmukh camp before a trust vote in the Maharashtra assembly.

The most most reported name in Karnataka’s resort politics is the super luxury Golden Palms Hotel and Spa, owned by actor Sanjai Khan, about 40 km from Bangalore. Because of its strict entry and exit barriers, political leaders in the state find it safer. It also has seven star luxury amenities to keep the politicians engaged and happy.

To make the chronicle of resort-politics reasonably complete, one should also mention instances in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Some times, they also provide funny spin-offs too. Last year, the BJP MLAs in resort-captivity in Jaipur ahead of a Rajya Sabha election allegedly watched a pirated copy of Prakash Jha’s Rajneeti, barely a few days after its release. Jha went to police demanding action.

A resolute Election Commissioner has been able to clean up the country’s polls to some extent despite every devious trick by the some of our crook-politicians. Money is not as useful a tool in buying votes as it had been in the past, but horse-trading, as indicated by every incidence of resort-politics, is still an area that possibly involves cash.

How does one cleanse the hydra-like regenerative capability of our politicians to use money and subvert our systems?

Isn’t time that the never-happening Lokpal looked at this as well? Or the courts took suo-moto action?