Amid fresh disquiet in Karnataka BJP, rejig buzz as Vijayendra faces turbulence

Indian Express

a day ago

The recent flurry of visits by senior Karnataka BJP leaders to Delhi to meet the central leadership has again set off speculations in party circles about the possibility of an impending restructuring of the state unit, which may include the appointment of its 'full-fledged chief' and changes in key posts to accommodate rival groups.
The performance of current Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly R Ashoka is said to have come under the scanner of the central leadership for 'putting up a weak front' against the ruling Congress. Vijayendra, son of BJP heavyweight and ex-chief minister B S Yediyurappa, was appointed as the state party chief on an ad-hoc basis in November 2023.
Ahead of the upcoming monsoon session of the state Legislature, the BJP leaders have ruffled the central leadership for their perceived 'adjustment brand of politics' with the Congress on several public issues, sources said.
In recent weeks the state BJP has been perceived to have let the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government get away lightly over various rows, including the bid for a new caste survey, corruption cases, and a stampede at the Bengaluru cricket stadium involving the deaths of 11 people in the wake of alleged overenthusiasm shown by Congress leaders to felicitate the IPL winning RCB team.
There has been a perception in state political circles that the Siddaramaiah government has faced more resistance from within the faction-ridden Congress rather than the principal Opposition. Some BJP leaders had even felicitated Siddaramaiah in February this year – while seeking funds for development of Bengaluru ahead of the state Budget – in a sign of camaraderie.
There have also been concerns in a BJP section that the party is not geared to 'effectively counter pro-minority policies' of the Siddaramaiah dispensation, which has always been at the centre of the party's attack against the Congress.
Following the BJP leadership's recent crackdown against a vocal state faction, including the expulsion of dissident leader and ex-Union minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, the leadership of Vijayendra and Ashoka was seen as 'unchallenged'.
However, various recent developments indicate that the state BJP leadership issues have yet to be fully settled. Former state party chief and CM D V Sadananda Gowda said this week that the situation in the state unit was like a 'tinderbox' waiting to explode.
'Anything we speak is seen in the wrong light even by our own leaders. All our leaders are caught up in their own small spheres. Every day goes by in listening to the voices from these echo chambers. It creates an impression that everything is fine. I would say that everything is not okay. There is bubbling unhappiness in the party in Karnataka,' Sadananda Gowda told reporters.
'We have to come out of this factionalism and disgruntlement. Once we emerge out of this, only then will we have the strength to counter the Congress government,' he said.
'If there has to be a unanimous decision on a party leader for the state, then there should be widespread consultations, which should not be restricted to a few leaders. The state BJP core committee's existence currently is only notional. There are no issue-based discussions in the committee,' Gowda claimed.
He also said the practice of the state president holding consultations with the core committee to firm up the party's strategies has come to a halt. 'The decision on whether a candidate identified to be the state president is good or bad has to be decided by the party cadre. This is not happening. Otherwise, appoint a full time president and we will adjust to working with the chosen candidate, but this is also not happening. We cannot understand this,' he said.
On his part, Vijayendra has refuted suggestions that his recent visit to Delhi was linked to any possible leadership change. He however expressed hope that the leadership would soon pick a full-time state president and name him
for the post. 'We are a national party. Everyone's opinion has been taken. I am confident that I have done a very successful work in the last one-and-a-half years. Our workers and leaders are confident. So it will be good… for you…and me too,' Vijayendra said Thursday in Bengaluru after his return from Delhi.
'Now the elections of 14 state party presidents across the country have been completed. Very soon a decision will be made on six or seven more states,' Vijayendra said. 'The appointment of the party presidents for Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have not been made,' he noted, claiming that he had gone to Delhi for 'personal reasons' and that other state leaders had done it too.
Even LoP Ashok's multiple visits to Delhi could not be seen as a sign of imminent changes, Vijayendra said. 'Ashok is doing a very good job as the Opposition leader. The MLAs are also satisfied with him. However, there is a discussion in the media about a change of Opposition leaders. This is definitely not right,' he argued.
'Those who were expressing dissatisfaction are now out of the party. Some others have expressed small opinions. Union minister Pralhad Joshi and others are working to resolve issues. Everything will be fine,' Vijayendra said. On Sadananda Gowda's remarks, he said, 'Gowda is a senior. I will meet him and discuss with him. I do not agree that it is a tinderbox situation. It is natural to have minor differences of opinion in a party.'
The BJP leadership's decision to name Vijayendra as the state ad hoc chief had come months after the party lost power to the Congress in the May 2023 Assembly polls. This was after the party tried to move away from the shadow of Yediyurappa during 2020-2023. The decision sparked resentment in the state party as senior leaders like Yatnal, Basavaraj Bommai, Shobha Karandlaje and C T Ravi were thus forced to follow Vijayendra, a first-time MLA.
In January this year, senior BJP leader and Union minister Shivaraj Singh Chouhan had said that an election would be held for the post of the Karnataka BJP president as part of the organisational polls. This resulted in Vijayendra's rivals stepping up their attacks on him. In March, the party leadership expelled Vijayendra's key rival Yatnal, suggesting that it favoured a full three-year term for him.
There seems to be a view in a large section of the state BJP that the leadership would not take the risk of dislodging Vijayendra from his post as it could also cost the party a backlash from its main support group — Lingayats to which Yediyurappa and his son belong. There appears to be however some uncertainty about the continuance of Ashok despite the point that he is from the Vokkaliga community, another dominant group in the state.