Anti-BSY faction has twin challenges: Father and son
MANGALURU: The BJP’s landslide victory in the recently concluded bypolls has firmly cemented the BS Yediyurappa government, and for the time being put to rest any challenges to the party stalwart. But the anti-Yediyurappa faction, said to be led by state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel, who appears to be on the back foot, sources say, will now be more active than ever.
Highly reliable sources in the BJP told TNIE that party national general secretary BL Santosh and Kateel are currently facing two challenges. The CM has already sent out a strong message to the national leadership as well as his rivals that he continues to remain the top boss in the state echelon, while he is also focused in grooming his son BY Vijayendra as his successor.
The faction that wants to see Yediyurappa bite the dust now feels that they have two tasks — one is to sideline the top Lingayat leader, and the other to scuttle the rise of his son.
Vijayendra, state general secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha, came into the limelight after he engineered the party’s maiden victory in the KR Pete assembly bypoll in Mandya, a strong Vokkaliga bastion of the JDS and Congress. A source said Yediyurappa was tactically nurturing Vijayendra to be his successor, and make him the new face of dominant Lingayat politics.
“The Nalin faction will first wait and watch during the expansion of the cabinet, to accommodate the turncoats. A small mistake by the leader will help fuel internal rift that will help in sidelining Yediyurappa. As long as he is in power, he will embolden Vijayendra, which is yet another threat. The problem that arose after the bypoll results was the scale of the victory which party workers are attributing to Yediyurappa, and which stopped Nalin from sharing credit as he was not in much demand during campaigning,” a source said.
The Kateel-Santosh duo, who want to get rid of the Lingayat power centre and create their own, see Vijayendra as a potential threat.
Kateel and Santosh did not respond to calls or messages from TNIE.