BENGALURU: BJP leaders in Karnataka appear to be divided over the removal of the Congress government led by CM Siddaramaiah in Karnataka.
Even as Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna said the government is likely to collapse any time, BJP state chief BY Vijayendra said he wants to give the Congress government a good fight during its tenure.
“For the next four years, we have to fight against the corrupt Congress government. During the BJP regime, the state was at the forefront in all fields, but in one year of Congress rule, it is lagging behind,” Vijayendra said at the felicitation held for the 19 NDA MPs of the state on Saturday.
According to sources, Vijayendra, the young leader who has seen power from close as the son of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, is in no hurry to attain power. Instead, he wants to go on a statewide trip to organize the party like his father, and get close to the people.
And like Yediyurappa, Vijayendra is on good terms with almost all Veerashaiva-Lingayat religious institutions across the state, and is capable of filling his father’s shoes as a strong leader of one of the largest communities in the state, observed political pundits.
Like Vijayendra, former minister and MLC CT Ravi, a Vokkaliga, is also in no hurry to acquire power. Ravi, who longs to become CM, has the backing of the BJP top brass and RSS. “The BJP will not try to remove the Congress government as the party does not have an adequate number of MLAs to form the government,” he said on Sunday.
He also remarked that Siddaramaiah’s image as a strong leader is getting diminished, which could mean the BJP will have a good chance when the next assembly polls are held. Ravi is likely to be selected Opposition leader in the Council, that may help him emerge strong, according to analysts.
Apart from Somanna, Opposition leader in the assembly R Ashoka, former CM Basavaraj Bommai and former DCM Govind Karjol often predict that the Congress government may crumble soon due to internal bickering and corruption. Already, B Nagendra has resigned as tribal welfare minister after the multi-crore scam in the Valmiki corporation surfaced.
BJP leaders have alleged that other ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet are also corrupt and both Siddaramaiah and DCM D K Shivakumar should resign.