Busy bee Yeddyurappa projects himself as a man in a hurry, all the time. Believe it or not, he relaxes too!  The last movie he watched was Mungaru Male, in Shimoga. But that he did when he was the Opposition leader.
What about after becoming CM? His way of relaxation is to walk, walk and walk. Being health conscious, he makes it a point to walk at least five kms a day. He walks around the Vidhana and Vikasa Soudhas five times a day. He is diabetic and hypertensive, but he is regular in taking medicines and takes care of his diet well.

Sources close to the Chief Minister say that he gets up around 4 am and begins his morning walk along with his aide Swami. That’s the time he makes calls to his associates and contacts. After coming home, he gets engrossed in reading newspapers. He is a serious newspaper reader, and makes it a point to read articles which take a dig at him or his government.

“After reading, he highlights certain things which we will have to follow up. He reads all papers and takes the write-ups seriously. He also watches news channels in the night,” an officer in the CMO said.

Yeddyurappa is also known for being short-tempered. How do his officers manage to work with him? “He loses his cool when he is upset or under pressure. But he realises his mistake quickly. He comes back to us to say sorry. There ends the matter.”

He has not got even a pair of new clothes stitched after becoming CM. Even on the day of the swearing-in, he wore an old white shirt.

“A tailor in Mysore brings stitched clothes for sahebru. But he is least interested in shopping for clothes for himself,” the officer said.

For how many hours the Chief Minister work everyday? “He sleeps between 12 and 4 am. The rest of the time he is working. He is a workaholic. A religious person and a great believer in God. He has no hobby but work.”

LINGAYAT LOBBY

An allegation against Yeddyurappa is that he has appointed onlyofficers of his community – Lingayats – to some key posts, and that all his core team members are Lingayats too. The principal secretary to the CM, Intelligence Chief and personnel in the CMO are all Lingayats.  What does the CM have to say about it? “No…it is not like that. I sincerely request you to go through the records of the last four to five years and see who held the key posts in the government. Then you will come to know the position now. In my office, people of different communities are working.”