‘No question of replacing him’ — BJP insists Yediyurappa will stay, dismisses ‘rumblings’

Speculation has been rife in Karnataka about the BJP high command working on a succession plan but central party leaders say Yediyurappa will see out his term.

File photo of Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa | ANI

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has no plans for a change of guard in Karnataka, and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will complete his term in office, multiple central leaders of the ruling party told ThePrint.

Speculation has been rife in Karnataka about the BJP high command working on a succession plan, with some party leaders such as Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, publicly declaring that Yediyurappa would not continue in office for long.

Multiple leaders involved in overseeing BJP affairs in Karnataka affairs, however, dismissed the rumblings and told ThePrint that there was no threat to the incumbent chief minister and nothing should be read into the delay in cabinet expansion for which he has been seeking approval from the party high command over the past year.

“He is the chief minister and will remain so until he completes his tenure. There is no question of replacing him,” said a senior BJP leader. “A lot of rumours are spread by the opposition and one should not pay any heed to it.”

When asked why the cabinet expansion has been delayed for long, the party leader said: “We will first concentrate on Bihar cabinet expansion and Karnataka will be taken up after that. There are a few issues that need to be resolved first, including the farm laws and the party is quite busy with that too.”

The chief minister has been waiting since January last year to expand his cabinet and has made at least four announcements in this regard, but there has been no official word from the central leadership on this so far.

In fact, Yediyurappa had met party president J.P. Nadda in Delhi last November too but no date was provided for his cabinet expansion even then.

Party sources said the decision to expand the cabinet would be taken only after Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state next month.

An ageing chief minister

Yediyurappa’s detractors within the party cite his age — the CM is 77 years old — as a reason for a possible change of guard. The BJP has an unwritten code that those above 75 years of age would not hold any official position. Besides, the BJP would need to project and establish a new face as Yediyurappa would be nearly 80 by the next assembly elections in 2023.

The party, however, has officially backed the chief minister. In a recent visit to Karnataka to attend the state unit’s core committee meeting, Arun Singh, BJP general secretary in-charge of party affairs in the state, reiterated that there was no plan to change the CM in the state.

Singh, however, had a word of caution for Yediyurappa — he asked him to keep his family away from his governance. A party source said Singh had met several state BJP leaders, who complained to him that there was a lot of interference in the working of the state government by the CM’s younger son, B.Y. Vijayendra, who is also the state BJP unit’s vice-president.

“They said many decisions were being taken by Vijayendra and Yediyurappa had given him a free hand,” the party source said. “This has been taking place for sometime now and many leaders warned saying if the leadership does not step in now many MLAs would be disgruntled and forced to take decisions that may not be good for the BJP.”

Analysts, however, believe the BJP is just biding its time. Bengaluru-based political analyst Mahadeva Prakash said the BJP high command has sent enough signals to Yediyurappa that it wants a leadership change.

“The BJP high command wants Yediyurappa to resign honourably,” Prakash told ThePrint. “The high command is also encouraging dissidence in the party through leaders like Yatnal. They could have initiated stern action against Yatnal for his statements but they are not doing so. This is because they do understand that Yediyurappa could revolt again and they want him to take the decision to quit.”