Bengaluru: A section of rebel Karnataka BJP leaders is making renewed attempts to put pressure on the party’s top leadership to replace state unit chief B. Y. Vijayendra, a first-time MLA and son of former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
The rebel MLAs and leaders including Ramesh Jarkiholi, Kumar Bangarappa, B.P. Harish, Shrimanth Patil, N.S. Santosh, and others have been camping in Delhi since Tuesday evening, and have met Union Minister of State and senior BJP leader V. Somanna.
They have also met JD(S) leader and Union Heavy Industries Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy and other leaders, ThePrint has learnt.
The rebellion within the state BJP started simmering right after Vijayendra was made the state party chief in November 2023, overlooking several other senior members. Vijayendra is a first-time MLA from Shikaripura in Shivamogga, a seat represented by his father until 2023.
The dissent—overt and covert—was led by leaders such as Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Jarkiholi, C.T. Ravi, Prathap Simha and several others who accused the Yediyurappa family of corruption, dynastic and “adjustment” politics, and not remaining true to the BJP’s larger cause of Hindutva.
The BJP took action against some of these leaders to calm the situation, but with little success. The rebellion has resurfaced. And it comes at a time the ruling Congress appears to have quelled dissent within, and struck a temporary truce between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar.
Speaking to ThePrint Wednesday on the condition of anonymity, one of the BJP rebels told ThePrint, “A month ago, we ran around, and thought he (Vijayendra) would be replaced but it did not happen. How will the high command also reveal its plans to us so easily? It’s a national party and these things are done with some level of secrecy,”
But the BJP rebel section is hopeful it can convince the top brass this time to replace Vijayendra at the earliest.
Vijayendra’s father and former chief minister Yediyurappa continues to hold significant sway within the party, forcing the central leadership to tread carefully. Yediyurappa is also the undisputed political leader of the dominant Lingayats in the state.
M.P. Renukacharya, a former minister and Yediyurappa loyalist, told ThePrint, “No matter who goes to Delhi, they cannot influence the party high command to change anything. Yediyurappa is the one who built the party (in Karnataka). These attempts will prove futile and Vijayendra will continue as the state president.”
Another senior leader said only the Modi-Shah duo can take such a decision, but sounded confident that Vijayendra will be replaced at the earliest.
With the Karnataka BJP fighting divisions within, it has not been able to present a united front. It has prevented the BJP from effectively challenging the Siddaramaiah-led government on alleged corruption or the power tussle between the chief minister and his deputy.
Said a BJP leader, requesting anonymity, “If the party wanted to remove Vijayendra, it would have done so by now. It’s only when they want to retain someone, they look for reasons to do the same. To remove someone, they don’t need to bide time.”
‘No appointment’
The person cited above said that the rebel leaders who are in Delhi have not got any appointment with the top BJP leadership or any senior leaders, but are able to “walk into their chambers” since the Parliament session is on.
“They walk into the chambers of these leaders, exchange pleasantries, take pictures and leave. There is nothing more to it.” This, he said, is being interpreted as a “win” for the rebel faction which is far from the truth.
The BJP tried to contain the growing factionalism by taking action against some leaders. In March, it expelled Yatnal, one of the prominent leaders of the rebel group, for ‘anti-party activities’. It also expelled S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar.
At the same time, it issued show cause notices to leaders from the Yatnal camp—B.P. Harish—and the Vijayendra camp—Katta Subramanya Naidu and M.P. Renukacharya. But these steps have had little impact.
‘No longer BJP’
While Yatnal is a vocal critic of Yediyurappa and Vijayendra, the others had voted for the Congress candidate Ajay Maken in the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections. But all those who were expelled and served notices have only doubled down on their respective positions.
Yatnal, Somashekar and Hebbar continue as MLAs, but they are now being classified as ‘unattached members’ with the BJP in brackets. The BJP has not approached the Speaker to get these MLAs disqualified from the assembly either.
“Once any expulsion happens and the anti-defection law does not come into force, they are free to do what they want. There is no question of going to the Speaker seeking any dismissal. Once we expel them from the party, we do not retain the right to do that,” Malvika Avinash, a spokesperson for the BJP, told ThePrint.
With the BJP now down to just 62 members in the 224-member house, the party can ill-afford to remove more legislators and bring its tally further down. In the 2023 state elections, the BJP won just 66 seats, down from 104 in the 2018 elections.
Its ally, the JD(S), won 19 seats, but its current strength is 18. Its leader Kumaraswamy vacated his Channapatana seat after he became MP. The Congress got the seat in the bypolls.
The Congress had won 136 seats, and claims to have the support of Independents and the support of at least two expelled BJP legislators.
The BJP, people aware of the developments say, is unwilling to take any decision that can further aggravate the precarious position of the party in the southern state, especially with the Winter Session of the legislature scheduled to begin next week.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)