When the humble rise

Now that we have a new government, let's shake hands with some of its heroes.

Bangalore is perhaps India's most anti-poor city, and so there's some poetic justice in Katta Subramanaya Naidu becoming Karnataka's IT and BT minister.

Naidu, once a tea shop assistant, has risen to become a VIP who will now attend cocktail parties hosted by the affluent software crowd and, would you believe it, formulate policies for their advancement. Being a non-IT and non-BT Bangalorean, I take childish pleasure in the thought that some of India's snootiest people will have to walk into Naidu's office respectfully and seek redressal for their problems.

But let's not image even for a moment that Naidu is going to transform the city into a more compassionate place. He made a blinding statement about his prosperity when he married off his daughter last year, and is as interested in the spoils of real estate as his party colleague R Ashok. So Naidugaru, welcome, and may you prosper.

B S Yeddyurappa, who began his career selling limes on a bicycle, now rules the destiny of this state. That is a triumph of democracy and makes us proud. He has single-handedly built the BJP into its present position of somewhat delicate strength.

Yeddyurappa has already declared he will not tolerate corruption, but the talk is that he has handed over some innocuous looking envelopes to his friends in the media. He secretly hopes the media will crown him the best chief minister of India, like they did his Texas-educated predecessor S M Krishna. But he lacks the corporate sophistication of Krishna, and so could end up as a successor to Deve Gowda, whose snoozing pictures made it regularly to the news columns in the English language papers. Watch that space.

Since power came to Yeddyurappa after what seemed like an impossible battle, he may not really want trouble at Bababudangiri, which the Sangh parivar is trying to turn into another Ayodhya. He has abandoned all talk of Hindutva and is chanting the mantra of development, which dovetails neatly into the interests of his best friends in the party, the Reddys of Bellary.

Many feel Yeddyurappa's significant other, or his caste lobby, or the Reddys could eventually be his undoing, but as of now, it's a network that's wired all right.

Last but not the least, the Reddys. Children of police constable Gali Chenga Reddy, they shot to fame and wealth after they invested in a mine in 2004. They export ore to China, and routinely place orders for the most expensive cars and aircraft in the world. With help from Sriramulu, a municipal leader (now minister) who dresses in the flamboyant style of the Telugu movie star Chiranjeevi, they have established complete control over Bellary district.

A report says Janardhana Reddy's business turnover is a staggering Rs 20,000 crore (which adds up to more than the net domestic product of a handful of north-eastern states put together), so it's a wonder he found the time to dabble in politics. He and his brother are in the cabinet today.

Thank you for taking the trouble to get into public service, sirs.