How Yeddyurappa’s house was Bangalored

After portfolios, it was a bungalow that two ministers wanted for themselves that gave Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar a headache. And it wasn’t any bungalow; it was former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa’s ‘lucky’ 2 Race Course Road residence in Bangalore that Municipal Administration Minister Balachandra Jarkiholi and Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje had locked horns over.

The battle for the bungalow went on unabated behind the scenes even as the larger drama of DV Sadanada Gowda stepping down and Shettar taking over played out. It was resolved by Shettar only on Saturday, when Jarkiholi organised a housewarming ceremony and moved in. Karandlaje was left licking her wounds, telling reporters she was “not going to ask for any quarters” and that she was “happy” in her own house.

The bungalow, on a lush green one-acre plot, is regarded as lucky because Yeddyurappa never looked back after moving into it as Leader of the Opposition in 2004. He went on to become deputy chief minister in 2006, and chief minister soon after. The bungalow has eight rooms, including two suites with five-star bath fittings, marble floors and imported wallpaper. The government spent around `1.7 crore on sprucing up the building after Yeddyurappa became chief minister. The cost of renovation of the master bedroom was `35 lakh, including imported toilet fittings (`10 lakh), marble flooring (`10 lakh), false ceiling and wall designs (` 4.4 lakh), gypsum board and wall panelling (`10.15 lakh). A second suite too was renovated at a cost of `14.65 lakh with marble flooring and imported wallpaper. All bedrooms of this lucky bungalow have silk curtains and luxury sofas.