Women lead protests at Kudankulam nuclear power plant site

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Yeddyurappa's bid for power challenged by protege, BJP in quandary

New Delhi:  After meeting BJP top brass in the capital today, Karnataka Chief Minister V Sadananda Gowda sounded confident that he would continue to be at the helm of affairs in the state despite his mentor BS Yeddyurappa's bid for power.

When BS Yeddyurappa was forced by his party to quit as Karnataka's Chief Minister, he picked Sadananda Gowda to replace him.  The understanding was that Mr Gowda would serve as a seat-warmer, and would make way for Mr Yeddyurappa as soon as he extricated himself from a series of corruption cases. Mr Yeddyurappa now wants his office back, but Mr Gowda has had a change of heart.  "The BJP high command has told me there is no leadership change at present in Karnataka," said Mr Gowda today, known for his infectious smile.  
Both the current chief minister and the chief minister-in-waiting are in Delhi to stake their claim to the top job in Karnataka, where the BJP's first term in power has been mangled by bitter political in-fighting.
Mr Gowda met this morning with his party's most senior leaders - LK Advani, Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi and finally, BJP president Nitin Gadkari.

Mr Yeddyurappa spent most of the morning consulting with his loyalists. He reached Mr Gadkari's residence at around 2 in the afternoon. "I am going to meet the leaders. I will respect the wishes of the central leadership," he said ahead of his meeting with the party chief.

When Mr Yeddyurappa arrived at the Delhi airport last night, he was asked if he was going to become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka. "I have no idea. High command knows everything," he replied. "All important leaders wanted to meet and Nitin Gadkariji and Jaitelyji told us to come to Delhi. So we're going to meet them," he added.
The BJP doesn't have very long to decide. If it sides with Mr Yeddyurappa, it will lose all moral ground in its anti-corruption campaign.  In Delhi, the party has been attacking the Congress for a series of scams. Mr Advani conducted a rath-yatra last year to highlight the need for clean governance, and to suggest that the BJP can provide that. Mr Yeddyurappa was cleared of some corruption charges by a court last week; but he has other cases pending against him for handing public land to his family at huge discounts.  Last year, he spent nearly a month in jail.
But this week, Mr Yeddyurappa proved his might with any lack of restraint. A group of nearly 70 of the BJPs 110 MLAs in Karnataka showed their allegiance to him by moving into a five-star resort on the outskirts of Bangalore, which was once owned by actor Sanjay Khan and hosted the wedding of his daughter to actor Hrithik Roshan.  They reported to work at the Karnataka Assembly only when Mr Yeddyurappa granted his sanction.
However, that didn't end the BJP's troubles in the state where it is running its first government. In a critical by-election yesterday, the BJP lost the Lok Sabha seat from Udipi-Chikmagalur - the former constituency of Mr Gowda. The defeat is a victory in disguise for Mr Yeddyurappa who chose not to campaign there, allegedly because his party had reservations about the corruption cases against him, and whether that would affect voters.
The dispute between the current and former Chief Minister has caste overtones as well. Mr Yeddyurappa, a Lingayat, chose a Vokkaliga to replace him. Both are dominant communities in the state - and the BJP is in a bind now in case they have alienated the Lingayat vote bank. Would one time Yeddyurappa foe turned ally, Jagadish Shettar, another Lingayat, be a potential Chief Ministerial choice that would satisfy Mr Yeddyurappa if he is given the chair himself? And how would the Vokkaliga community react to a Chief Minister from their community being dumped on the demands of the volatile Mr Yeddyurappa? Elections to the state Assembly are due in 2013.

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'Don't put power on sale': BJP leaders upset with Rajya Sabha candidates

New Delhi:  It's Nitin Gadkari versus the rest of the BJP leadership. A crisis over the party president's alleged choice of candidates for the Rajya Sabha has led to BJP veteran LK Advani asking for an emergency meeting of BJP leaders.  
Another senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has reportedly warned that the selection of unsuitable nominees makes it tough for him to serve on different parliamentary committees; he said the selection of candidates will impact the BJP's image and anti-corruption plank. At a meeting of the party leadership today, one member warned, "Jab satta bikne lagti hai to samapt ho jaati hai" - a warning that translates as "When power is on sale, the end is near."

There are two candidates who leaders like Mr Advani are opposed to. Anshuman Mishra, an independent NRI candidate, a businessman from London. The party has expressed concerns about his integrity and his background. From Maharashtra, Ajay Sancheti, a businessman and a member of the BJP national executive, has been nominated. But he allegedly has links to the Adarsh scam - politicians and bureaucrats helped themselves to flats in a building meant for war widows and Army veterans.  

Mr Mishra's candidacy has fuelled so much opposition that Mr Advani wants a whip issued that would make it necessary for MLAs in Jharkhand from his party to vote against the entrepreneur. Mr Sinha said that it was unfair for the party to support an outsider rather than fielding its own candidate. Mr Sinha suggested that rooting for a businessman would tempt the party's MLAs to sell their vote.  

"Six Jharkhand MLAs and two ministers signed this candidate's nomination papers. That shows loud and clear the party's support for him...why bring in a rank outsider? I felt pained," Mr Sinha told NDTV, also pointing out that supporting Mr Mishra would only add to Jharkhand's image as "happy hunting ground for the rich." In strong words Mr Sinha said, "Our MLAs should not be auctioned...there are ways for our MLAs to avoid voting for him."
Mr Sinha says he had not even heard of Anshuman Mishra, who, however, claimed today that, "I have good relations with all big BJP leaders." Mr Mishra said he was contesting elections with the support of senior leaders and if the party leadership opposed to supporting him, "I will withdraw my candidature."

There is more resentment within the BJP over the denial of a ticket to veteran leader, and BJP's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, S S Ahluwalia.

As the crisis escalated, Mr Gadkari met with the party's parent-body, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), in Nagpur today.

However, on record, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar has denied the talk of any dissent, saying, "There is no question of anyone being unhappy within the party."

Mr Gadkari has provoked serious dissent within the party in recent months. Before the UP elections, he allowed Babu Singh Kushwaha, a minister in the UP government who was fired by his party chief Mayawati for corruption. Mr Gadkari's colleagues like Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti and Maneka Gandhi said this would hurt the party's credibility. Mr Kushwaha was persuaded by the BJP to then announce that he had voluntarily decided to put his membership of the BJP on hold till he was cleared of corruption charges.  He is now in jail.
Mr Gadkari is also finding it tough to manage a revolt in Karnataka, where the BJP is in power. Former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa wants to return to office immediately. He has the support of more than half the party's representatives in the Karnataka Assembly and therefore has the strength to split the party and bring down the government, if the crisis should deepen.

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9 Indians in Forbes Asia Power Businesswomen list

New York: 

ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochchar, Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and film producer Ekta Kapoor are among the nine Indian women named in Forbes magazine's inaugural 'Asia Power Businesswomen list'.

The list names 50 "pathbreakers", whose extraordinary business success is driving the region's remarkable economic rise, Forbes said.

"Although the role of women in Asia-Pacific's economy is growing, most of these honorees still have had to overcome significant barriers to get where they are today," it said, adding the business success of the 50 women on its list is a combination of capital, ideas, energy and leadership.

The list also includes Britannia Industries Managing Director Vinita Bali, 56 years, HT Media Chairman and Editorial Director Shobhana Bhartia, 55 years, AZB & Partners Founder and Senior Partner Zia Mody, 55 years, Axis Bank CEO and Managing Director Shikha Sharma, 53 years, and Tractors & Farm Equipment Chairman Mallika Srinivasa, 52 years.

Kapoor, 36, is the youngest on the list who as a "TV and movie producer is lighting a fire under Bollywood," Forbes added.

HCL Corp Executive Director and CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra, 30, is on a separate list of 15 power women to watch out for.

The list includes CEOs, founders and executives from China, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and Vietnam whose "extraordinary business success is driving some of this region's most exciting growth and prosperity".

"These 50 dynamic women not only represent game-changers within their respective industries, but they also have inspired and empowered scores of talented women to follow suit," the publication said.

Others on the list include HSBC Asia Pacific's non- executive Deputy Chairman Laura Cha (62 years), Morgan Stanley CEO and Managing Director China, Co-CEO Asia Pacific Wei Sun Christianson, 55 years, Singapore Telecom Group CEO Chua Sock Koong, 42 years, Hyundai Group Chairman Hyun Jeong-Eun, 57 years and Temasek Executive Director and CEO Ho Ching, 58 years.

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