BENGALURU: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday directed state BJP leaders to raise their voice and double their efforts to fight against corruption in the Congress government.
State BJP president BY Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashoka, Deputy Leader of Opposition Arvind Bellad and other senior leaders met Shah here.
Even as Shah was in Bengaluru, a group of dissidents met at former BJP MP GM Siddeshwar’s residence in Bengaluru late on Thursday night. Interestingly, Union Minister of State V Somanna too is said to have taken part in the meeting with BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi’s team. The rebels want to convey their displeasure to Shah through Somanna.
While Union Minister Pralhad Joshi tried to pacify them, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said the issues would be sorted by talking to the “rebels”. The dissidents are also expected to meet party central leaders in Delhi next week.
Former CM and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa said he too will join Joshi’s efforts in reaching out to the dissidents. “I have decided to be at the BJP office every day, from morning till noon and talk to people here. I will also travel to one or two districts in a week and interact with party workers,” he said.
A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, said there are differences among leaders not just in Davanagere, but in most districts. “It may not be as easy as it seems to unglue these sticking points. Some issues have been there for years. We can only hope that these are sorted out. Otherwise, they will have an impact on the election results.”