BENGALURU: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Monday referred to the former chief minister and 78-year-old BS Yediyurappa as Margdarshak, who will guide the party during the State Assembly elections in 2023. The Margdarshak Mandal of the BJP is where senior leaders above 75 years of age are made to work for the party without any active political role. This is the first time that any BJP leader has referred to Yediyurappa as a Margdarshak.
Kateel though tried to downplay the issue, saying all leaders in the party will work as a team during the Assembly elections, his reference did not go down well with Yediyurappa’s supporters. Kateel reiterated the statements of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party national general secretary, Karnataka in-charge, Arun Singh that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will lead the party in the next Assembly elections.
Kateel went on to say that he and Yediyurappa will tour the State in the coming days to strengthen the party, and that Yediyurappa will prepare the plan. The Lingayat strongman had earlier announced his plans of travelling across the State after Ganesha Chaturthi to meet local leaders. His decision had not gone down well with some party leaders, who feared that it would create two power centres in the State that could prove costly for the party in the 2023 elections. Even Amit Shah, who was in the State last week, is said to have told Yediyurappa to go slow. Kateel said, “Yediyurappa is our leader. There is no question of the party without him. He told me that we will travel together. He is our mentor and guide.’’