BENGALURU: Though the BJP high command is ready to meet the delegation led by former minister V Somanna to set right certain issues, the meeting has been deferred as the latter is insisting that former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and son BY Vijayendra, BJP state chief, should also be called to the national capital for a face-to-face meeting.
It is to be seen whether the high command, especially Union Home Minister Amit Shah, concede to their demand or placate them by promising certain posts in the party.
The delegation plans to reveal certain facts, including the reasons for the defeat of Somanna, a Veerashaiva Lingayat, in both Varuna and Chamarajanagar in the May 10 assembly polls. They also want to explain how Yediyurappa allegedly tried to snub Veerashaiva Lingayat leaders within the BJP for over a decade, sources said.
Somanna had earlier said he would lead a delegation, including Basavanagouda Patil Yatnal and others, to the party's high command during the first week. However, the Central leadership was busy with the appointment of chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Despite Vijayendra paying courtesy calls to all state leaders to take them into confidence ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Yatnal has not yet given him an audience. He did not attend the BJP Legislature Party meeting in Belagavi on Tuesday either, giving a clear indication that he is sulking over the recent appointments of Vijayendra as state chief and R Ashoka as Leader of the Opposition (LoP).
Somanna, who is aspiring to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Tumakuru to prove his mettle, held a rally at Siddaganga Mutt recently. But the party leadership is afraid it would become tough for him and the party to win the seat unless he and Yediyurappa patch up. Recently, Vijayendra met Tumakuru MP G S Basavaraju and sought his help to patch up with Somanna.
Meanwhile, the Congress, especially KPCC president D K Shivakumar, is closely watching Somanna’s moves, with the hope of inducting him into the party. Somanna, who was forced by Shah to give up his Govindarajnagar assembly seat in Bengaluru and move to Chamarajanagar and Varuna, as part of the party’s strategy, eventually lost both seats. Somanna had wished to contest only from Chamarajanagar, and if he had focused on it, he would have won, a BJP leader said.