
BENGALURU: The state BJP core committee that met on Saturday held deliberations to quell the internal bickering in the party ahead of the local body elections expected to be held in 2025. It sent out a firm message that there will be no change in the leadership in the state unit of the party, and state party president BY Vijayendra will lead the party in the polls.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of senior party MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal taking out a separate rally against the alleged grabbing of land belonging to farmers and religious institutions by the Karnataka Waqf Board. Yatnal is also a vocal critic of Vijayendra and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa.
The core committee on Saturday advised all party leaders to work alongside those who are committed to the party’s ideology and work to strengthen it in the state, informed sources told The New Sunday Express, adding that taking action against Yatnal has been left to the party high command.
“We want to face the upcoming panchayat polls with great vigour. Power to change the party leadership lies with the grassroots workers or national leaders... not with any intermediatory persons,” the party’s state in-charge, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, told the media after the meeting.
Agarwal clarified that they will take a further decision after studying Yatnal’s reply to the show-cause notice issued by the party’s disciplinary committee recently.
“He (Yatnal) is yet to reply. Action, if needed, will be based on his reply. There is no Yatnal versus Vijayendra or Yatnal versus BJP in Karnataka,” he clarified. “We have 71 lakh workers in Karnataka. Each person has his or her own personality. Time will tell whether their personality is right or wrong,” he added.
State BJP president BY Vijayendra said that it has been decided in the core committee meeting to curb the “unruly” behaviour of some leaders and to take this matter seriously. MLAs ST Somashekhar and Shivaram Hebbar, who won under the BJP symbol, have been involved in anti-party activities for the past several months, and they have officially identified themselves with the Congress, he added. When asked if Yatnal’s expulsion was sought, he said, “I cannot speak openly about it... the matter is in the court of the elders.”
The core committee members said that they will request the suspension and disqualification of Somashekhar and Hebbar.
It was also decided that everything in the party be brought to the attention of the higher-ups and a decision be taken immediately.