Hubballi, Jan 15 (Aryavarth) Peeved over missing cabinet berth, Karnataka BJP leader A. H. Vishwanath on Friday said that he would soon release a book titled – Bombay Days – a tell-all book, on how the BJP carried out ‘Operation Lotus’ to come to power in 2019.
‘Operation Kamal’ or ‘Operation Lotus’ refers to a BJP strategy to come to power in states where it doesn’t have enough seats to form the government on its own.
This strategy was first tested in Karnataka after the 2008 Assembly election. The BJP fell three seats short of a simple majority, though it formed the government with the help of five independent MLAs, increasing its numbers to 115. In the name ensuring ‘stability’, it actively influenced and made at least 18 MLAs from opposition parties then to resign and went for by-polls, eventually made them ministers.
In 2019 too, the BJP adopted the same strategy, seeking that 17 MLAs from Congress and JD(S) parties to defect and form the government.
Vishwanth is one of the 17 defectors, who flew to Mumbai and stayed in a luxury hotel for nearly two weeks where “Operation Lotus” was designed and executed. He is privy to many issues that went into executing a plan to topple the Congress-JD(S) government in the state.
Vishwanth told reporters that the book would be a detailed account of how Yediyurappa executed Operation Lotus with 17 legislators, who all had made up their minds to defect from respective parties.
“I am in the process of finalising the last two chapters and shortly it will be released,” he said.
Last year, when he announced that such a book would be authored by him, he had stated that the book will cover all the factors related to developments that took place in Mumbai.
“It is centred around the fall and rise of two different governments,” he said.
He also coined the name – Bombay Team – referring to all 17 MLAs who had flown to Mumbai to orchestrate the fall of the coalition government.
