All does not seem well in the Karnataka BJP unit. No sooner were the bypoll results out—in which the party failed to win any of the three seats at stake—than the rift in the party became deeper. Vijayapura MP Basangouda Patil Yatnal, who has raised a banner of revolt against B S Yediyurappa and his family, attacked the former chief minister’s son and state BJP president B Y Vijayendra for the dismal bypoll showing.
The central BJP leadership issued a show cause notice to Yatnal on his continued “indiscipline”, prompting him to post that he would respond with “facts regarding the current state of BJP in Karnataka”. Yatnal has accused Yediyurappa of colluding with Congress leaders including Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. The two BJP factions are also running parallel campaigns over the waqf property row, and were recently in New Delhi to present their cases.
The “current state” of the BJP is quite uncharacteristic of the party itself, which is known for discipline. At the crux of the issue is nepotism: Vijayendra holding the top post despite being a first-time MLA has rankled many veterans. Party leaders Ramesh Jarkiholi and Kumar Bangarappa have thrown their lot with Yatnal, and claimed that 70 percent of the party MLAs are in touch with them. Jarkiholi, a Congress turncoat who supported Yediyurappa in 2019, has declared that Vijayendra is unfit to hold the party post and must step down.
The BJP knows it cannot upset the power structure. Its temporary divorce with Yediyurappa, a mass leader, in 2012 over the mining scam had led to an electoral debacle in 2013. Despite advocating a politics of merit over dynasties, the BJP leadership knows it has to keep its satrap in good humour. There have always been two party factions in Karnataka—one ideologically hard and the other toeing a softer line.
But if dissent is allowed to grow, the party could fragment. As the opposition, the BJP has put up a vigorous campaign against corruption in the Siddaramaiah government and managed to put it on the mat in the MUDA site allotment and Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation funds misappropriation cases. If it doesn’t put its house in order, it could soon lose sight of its role in the state’s affairs.