Bengaluru: A minister in Karnataka’s B.S. Yediyurappa government has lashed out at what he describes as some media organisations’ attempt to paint state BJP vice-president B.Y. Vijayendra, the chief minister’s son, as the sole architect of the party’s win in the Sira assembly bypoll this month.
Addressing the media in Shivamogga Tuesday, Karnataka Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Department Minister K.S. Eshwarappa said he wasn’t ignoring Vijayendra’s role but the win was the result of a collective effort by party leaders.
His statement came amid reports of resentment among state BJP leaders over Vijayendra’s emergence as a power centre in the government.
Eshwarappa subsequently defended his statement, with the BJP also seeking to play down the controversy.
ThePrint tried to contact Vijayendra through calls and text messages but hadn’t received a response till the time of publishing.
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‘Everyone should get equal credit’
Speaking to ThePrint, Eshwarappa said some media houses “are trying to glorify Vijayendra”. But the truth is that the BJP’s victory in Sira, a stronghold of the Janata Dal (Secular), is the result of the collective effort of all leaders who worked tirelessly, he said.
“It is not fair to attribute the win to one person when there were several leaders like deputy chief ministers Govind Karjol and Ashwath Narayan, MLA Suresh Gowda, the candidate Rajesh Gowda, and all the karyakartas who worked towards the BJP’s victory,” he added.
“I only said what I felt. The way it (the bypoll outcome) was being projected is not good for the BJP, is what I said,” he added. He said he was not ignoring the efforts of Vijayendra, but feels “that everybody should be given equal credit”.
The BJP echoed the statement. “Eshwarappa only clarified that the media was being unfair by glorifying just one person, and that the efforts of all leaders should be acknowledged,” said spokesperson S. Prakash.
“BJP has won the Sira seat and there rests the matter,” he added. “One cannot deny that there has been a significant contribution by Vijayendra.”
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