The BJP would, perhaps, have been better off if it had not succumbed to its ambition to secure a majority on its own by launching the dodgy "Operation Lotus" (The lotus is party's election symbol.
This led to devious ways of beating the anti-defection law which seeks to curb the party-hopping spree of legislators.
"Operation Lotus" lured more than a dozen assembly members belonging to the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular to quit the assembly, leave their parties and contest as BJP candidates in the by-polls.
This ingenious method gave the BJP a majority of its own in the assembly as its numbers rose to 120.
Of the four ministers who have quit only one, Shobha Karandlaje, started her political career with BJP mentor RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).
Of the other three, C.M. Udasi came to BJP in 2004 from the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), C.P. Yogeshwar switched over from Congress in 2009 and Narasimha Nayak alias Raju Gouda joined in 2008 from a regional outfit.
Udasi and Karandlaje, who quit last month, have joined Karnataka Janata Party led by former BJP chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa while Yogeshwar and Nayak are knocking the Congress' doors.
Most of the other ministers who are said to be planning to quit BJP once their entry to the Congress is cleared are also new entrants to the party. They joined BJP from other parties just ahead of the 2008 assembly polls or during "Operation Lotus".
