BJP, which has been mounting pressure on the Congress over corruption charges, is on the defensive with allegations of nepotism against Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.

The tables have turned to such an extent on the BJP, with the chief minister of their only state in the south is on the way out.

The situation has reached such a state that there are strong chances that if he doesn’t  bow out of office, the Congress will be using this as a weapon to blunt the corruption stick.

Yeddyurappa has faced some major problems before, including the recent rebellion by some legislators (both from the BJP and five Independents supporting the government). He managed to face this test of support with some loss of strength.

He had to  take the support of the mining barons, the Reddy Brothers, who would no doubt want an increase in their influence and tweaking of policies to support their mining industries.

He also faces opposition in both the state and in the central wings of the BJP, with Ananth Kumar and Sushma Swaraj against him.

There can be no doubt that Yeddyurappa is guilty, he admitted as such by asking all the family members to return the land allotted to them, and earlier had sought to wriggle out of the issue by claiming that other politicians also did the same (did the same illegal granting of favours).

However, in this super-charged environment where the media is taking pleasure in outing the various misdeeds of politicians, it would be very dangerous for the BJP to have such a chief minister in place who has been all but declared guilty.

Like any other politician caught in such an issue, the chief minister is defiant, claiming that he will not step down, that he has a majority support within the elected legislators of the party and so on, but this is beyond his control.

It is difficult for the BJP to find a replacement, but it maybe that they have no option in this case. What is needed is prosecution if he has done something wrong, not just a resignation.

http://indiapoliticalblog.com/2010/11/21/bjp-yeddyurappa/