BENGALURU: Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s son, BY Vijayendra, who had faced dissidence when he was appointed BJP state chief with senior leaders Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and V Somanna opposing the party top brass’ move, is again caught in the cross-hairs of certain party leaders.
With a majority of his followers getting appointed as party office-bearers, there are rumblings in a section of leaders who are unhappy with the development. “Yediyurappa had quit the BJP and floated KJP-1. Now, Vijayendra has formed KJP-2 and it may survive till the 2024 LS polls. He had promised to ensure that the party won all 28 seats. If he falls short by even one seat, he will be removed from the president’s post,” said Yatnal.
According to sources, out of 32 office-bearers, including ten vice presidents and secretaries each, and four general secretaries, at least 25 are either supporters of Yediyurappa or sympathisers of Vijayendra. One of the vice presidents, M Rajendra, and Backward Classes Morcha president Raghu Koutilya, both from Mysuru, secretary Lalitha Anapura, women’s wing president C Manjula, Yuva Morcha president and Doddaballapura MLA Dhiraj Muniraju, SC Morcha president and Sakaleshpura MLA Cement Manju were in the coterie of Vijayendra who wants him to be the next CM of Karnataka if the party returns to power, sources said.
Except for Vinay Bidare as secretary and M Rajendra as vice-president, who retained the posts they had held previously, all office-bearers were new faces. “The top brass has given a go-ahead to Vijayendra’s team of office-bearers with the task of ensuring the party wins more seats in the LS polls. Like his father, Vijayendra has understood the caste equation and formed his team for the future,” an office-bearer told TNIE.
“This team is not an incompetent one. But there are slight differences here and there. Before appointing them, the national leaders should have come and sat down with the senior leaders of the state,” said former Union minister and Bengaluru North MP DV Sadananda Gowda.
Meet tomorrow
Amidst the criticism, Vijayendra has called a meeting of the new office-bearers at the party’s office in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Defending the party’s move, he claimed that while appointing the office-bearers, different communities and sects as well as Mumbai-Karnataka, Kittur-Karnataka and Kalyan-Karnataka regions were given representation besides giving priority to youth. “We have a big challenge before us to fight the ruling Congress party in the state and the BJP and JDS alliance should win all the 28 constituencies to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was playing with the future of children over the hijab issue by sowing seeds of caste in the minds of the students. “The chief minister made a U-turn that he had not said that his government will withdraw the ban on hijab. But the people of the state have noticed everything. BJP will take to the streets and fight if such a situation arises,” he said.
He asked Siddaramaiah as to why he was in a hurry as the case on hijab is in the Supreme Court. “Realising that the Congress will not win even a single seat, Siddaramaiah out of frustration has resorted to a strategy of withdrawing the ban on hijab,” he remarked. He said he has discussed the BJP-JDS alliance with JDS chief H D Kumaraswamy in New Delhi and the duo will resolve certain issues face-to-face as early as possible.