Bengaluru: For the first time in recent years, the budget session of the Karnataka assembly began Monday without a leader of the opposition (LoP) as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to make a decision on its choice of leader.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai is among the frontrunners for the post while others like Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, C.N. Ashwath Narayan and Araga Jnanendra are believed to be in the race.
People aware of the developments said that Bommai has been trying to secure the LoP on grounds that he is the only one who can counter the Congress while Yatnal and others are arguing that the party lost under the former chief minister.
“It is likely to happen within a day or two, but there are many factors at play,” a BJP legislator told ThePrint.
Two legislators said that all stakeholders were ‘lobbying hard’ for the post and one of them even accused some seniors of ‘adjustment politics’ to get the post.
There is also a speculation in the BJP circles that former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s second son and first-time MLA B.Y. Vijayendra is also trying to secure the post of deputy LoP.
Interestingly, Yediyurappa is leading the talks to appoint the LoP even though the 89-year-old is no longer a legislator, nor holds any position within the BJP state unit.
A member of the central parliamentary board, the former chief minister held a brief meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Sunday, but no decision was taken.
At least two senior BJP national leaders are in Bengaluru to meet and decide the names for LoP, but the meeting has been pushed to Tuesday, people aware of the developments said.
“Today at 6pm, we are having a legislature party meeting at the party office. Both the observers are coming to Bengaluru, they will collect the opinion of the members and submit their report to high command by evening or night. It will be decided by tonight or tomorrow,” BJP legislator Chalavadhi Narayanaswamy told reporters.
The Congress took a dig at the principal opposition, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah calling the BJP the most undisciplined party.
“It is becoming clear that there is a lot of groupism within them…they used to call themselves a disciplined party….(they are) the most undisciplined political party,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
The ruling party has taken to social media to launch multiple memes to target the BJP and the two national outfits are battling it online and offline over the issue.
The BJP, meanwhile, could not carry out their planned protest over the Congress-promised guarantees due to the discussions on the LoP.
Karnataka’s Home minister G. Parameshwara said that though the appointment of the LoP was an internal matter of the BJP, the people want to know what is happening within the national outfit.
He added that the BJP in Karnataka does not function without orders from Delhi.
“When it happens to Congress, they (BJP) comment on Delhi, on every possible place. But when it comes to their own, they refer it to Delhi. They better solve it,” Parameshwara told reporters.
Similarly, Large and Medium Industries minister M.B. Patil had poked fun at the BJP, asking if it had to resort to another ‘Operation Kamala’ to get its LoP.
“Every morning, they speak about guts but are not able to nominate an opposition leader. Since the BJP has been using Operation Kamala for CM, they are possibly looking to get an opposition leader the same way,” Patil tweeted Sunday.
(Edited by Tony Rai)