BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s supporters within the BJP have complained to party national General Secretary, Karnataka in-charge, Arun Singh, asking him to reign in BJP MLA Basanagouda Yatnal, who has been making statements against the state leadership. Arun Singh is said to have told them that state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel has already spoken to Yatnal, and that the central disciplinary committee is tracking his statements.
In October, Yatnal had said that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will not remain in power for long and that the central leadership has given a deadline. When the deadline passed and Yediyurappa was not changed, Yatnal repeated the statement again in December. His latest line is that Yediyurappa will be replaced before Sankranti festival, which falls on Januar 14.
The love-hate relationship between Yatnal and BJP has been going on for a long time. In 2009, when Yatnal, who was a two-time MP and a former Union minister, was denied a ticket, he switched over to the JDS. He rejoined the BJP in 2013, but was expelled in 2015. His latest entry into the saffron party was in 2018. D V Sadananda Gowda, who was then the chief minister, had asked Yatnal not to make statements against the party leadership. But the rebel had hit back, saying that he had served in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government and that Sadananda Gowda is his junior.
Party official spokesman Ganesh Karnik said that Yatnal’s rebellion will not come up for discussion during the state executive committee meeting on Sunday. But some insiders suspect that Yatnal is being backed by three to four powerful leaders. “How else can he survive in the party despite making such damaging statements against top leaders,” they asked.
When media persons asked Kateel on Saturday whether the chief minister’s chair is stable, he replied that it is not under threat and it is not even vacant. There has been no discussion on change in leadership in any party forum and Yediyurappa will continue as CM for the remainder of his term, he added.