BENGALURU: Internal squabbles and a series of bypoll defeats since 2024 have become a major cause for concern in the state unit of BJP, which is gearing up for the 2028 Assembly elections. Sorting out the differences between various factions has become a big challenge for top leaders of the saffron party.
The state saw byelections to the Assembly from six constituencies, including the recent ones in Davanagere South and Bagalkot, from 2024. The ruling Congress won all these byelections. The BJP-JDS alliance lost these constituencies, though Shiggaon and Channapatana were under it. Former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and HD Kumaraswamy resigned as MLAs of Shiggaon and Channapatana after getting elected as MPs.
According to some BJP leaders, the party which is in power always wins the byelections. However, sources in the BJP said that the main reason for the party’s defeat is the infighting among its leaders. “A few senior leaders do not get along well with the party leadership.
They do not want state unit president BY Vijayendra to get credit for any achievements by the party. This gap is widening with Vijayendra not being inclusive. This helped the Congress win the byelections,’’ a senior BJP leader told TNIE.
The Congress came to power in May 2023. The first bypoll to the Assembly under the Congress rule was held in May 2024 from Surpur, where its candidate won.
In November, byelections were held to the Assembly from Shiggaon, Channapatna and Sandur after MLAs representing these constituencies were elected as MPs. Basavaraj Bommai’s son Bharath Bommai, who contested as a BJP candidate, lost Shiggaon. In Channapatna, Kumaraswamy’s son Nikil Kumaraswamy lost as a JDS candidate. The ruling Congress retained Sandur.
In the recently held byelections to the Assembly from Bagalkot and Davanagere constituencies, the Congress candidates emerged victorious. In Bagalkot, the Congress won by a big margin. In Davanagere South, its candidate won by 5,700 votes.
BJP MLC N Ravikumar said that a day before polling, the ruling Congress released three to four months’ Gruhalakshmi money to women beneficiaries. “Congress leaders even blackmailed women stating that if the BJP wins, this scheme will be stopped,’’ he alleged.
The ruling Congress also paid money to voters from various communities. “In Bagalkot, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah camped for 15 days,’’ he said.
Sources in the BJP said that in the coming days, senior leaders of the party from Delhi will visit Karnataka frequently till the Assembly elections in 2028. As part of this poll strategy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon address a gathering in Bengaluru. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will take part in a rally in Chitradurga.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka told reporters that when BJP was in power, it won byelections from 15 constituencies. However, the BJP did not come to power in the subsequent Assembly elections. Byelections could not be considered as the yardstick for any party’s performance in the Assembly elections, he said.
