Bengaluru: Basanagouda R. Patil (Yatnal), a dissident MLA expelled from the party in March, is giving the BJP a hard time in the Assembly. Since the winter session of the state legislature commenced Monday, the BJP has been constantly looking over its shoulder—worried about being left red-faced by Yatnal’s comments and interruptions.
In his speech Thursday about development, or the lack of it, in northern Karnataka, Yatnal said there was no difference between the earlier (BJP) government and the incumbent one (Congress). Making no distinctions between leaders of various political parties, he said several leaders sing praises of their respective bosses by forgetting important issues that they earlier stood for in fear of missing out on an election ticket or the greed of being made a minister or being appointed in a plum post. “I have been expelled 3-4 times…I don’t care and have spoken for the people and they are behind me,” Yatnal said.
The former Union minister has made no secret of his disdain for the BJP or the party’s current leadership in Karnataka, even going as far to state that he has more credibility than the BJP to represent the Opposition.
“In this house, I am the real Leader of the Opposition. I am not someone who does ‘adjustment politics’ nor compromises with anyone. I request that you allot me a seat next to the Deputy Speaker,” he told the House Tuesday, evoking laughter from the Speaker and treasury benches. The remarks, made as Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka was making his speech, overshadowed Ashoka’s attempts to corner the Siddaramaiah-led government.
Yatnal is a vocal critic of former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and his son, B.Y. Vijayendra, incumbent president of the Karnataka BJP.
The MLA from Bijapur City, Yatnal has repeatedly accused the state BJP of ‘adjustment politics’—a term meant to describe compromises made by certain sections on both sides of the aisle to go soft on the ruling party either to win elections or curry favour. His relentless attacks and mobilising support to get Vijayendra ousted led to his expulsion from the party.
Yatnal’s firebrand style of politics, provocative remarks targeting Muslims and unfiltered speeches have gained him a sizable following in the Hindutva fold, making it harder for the BJP to ignore him. He is also the undeclared political leader of the Panchamasalis, the biggest sub-sect within the dominant Lingayat community that has been demanding for better representation and reservation within the caste group.
To add to that, Yatnal has questioned the ‘undisputed Lingayat leader’ title given to Yediyurappa, who belongs to the smaller Banajiga sub-sect, mirroring the sentiments of larger groups like Panchamasalis who feel slighted by smaller groups. The BJP has largely enjoyed the backing of the Lingayats, making Yatnal all the more important.
In the November 2021 bypoll in Haveri’s Hangal, Yatnal openly claimed to have engineered the BJP’s defeat since the party was ignoring demands of the Panchamasali sub-sect.
Though Yatnal has been making allegations against Yediyurappa and Vijayendra for many years now, he was expelled from the party only this March.
The BJP’s national leadership too shares a tumultuous relationship with Yediyurappa and has been reluctant to ease out the 82-year-old in fear of retaliation from the Lingayat community, which could result in it losing ground in its one stronghold in southern India.
The long leash given to firebrand leaders like Yatnal has been interpreted by certain sections as a strategy by the BJP high command to keep Yediyurappa’s influence in check, political observers and leaders said. Yatnal has been expelled three times in the last 15 years but each time he has been brought back into the party fold.
‘Vijayendra, Shivakumar are brothers’
Yatnal was one of three leaders the BJP expelled this year, besides S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar. Its strength is now 62 in the 224-member House. It has not, however, sought disqualification of the three leaders, allowing them to continue as MLAs.
Yatnal, Somashekar and Hebbar and now listed as ‘unattached members’ on the Assembly website, with the BJP mentioned in brackets. Its alliance partner, JD(S), is down to 18 MLAs, while the Congress claims the support of 140 legislators.
The BJP is battling intense factionalism, while JD(S) lacks a powerful voice inside the House, with H.D. Kumaraswamy in Delhi to discharge his duties as a Union minister in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led cabinet.
Karnataka BJP spokesperson Malavika Avinash had earlier told ThePrint, “Once any expulsion happens, anti-defection law does not come into effect, they are free to do what they want. There is no question of going to the speaker seeking any removal or dismissal.”
With the party now unable to contain him, Yatnal used the floor of the House to criticise the BJP, forcing Ashoka to try and bring the situation under control. Ashoka reached out to Yatnal, assuring him of more time to speak on issues like the development of northern Karnataka in return for cooperating with the Opposition.
“R. Ashoka is a poor soul. Firstly, we don’t even understand what he says (in the House). He called me yesterday and sought my cooperation to speak more on North Karnataka in the Belagavi session. He said that he will speak to the Speaker and get me more time to speak…he has a big heart and good habits,” Yatnal said.
He then told reporters that while Ashoka was trying to take him into confidence, Vijayendra was doing the exact opposite. “But this man (Vijayendra) asks people to file cases against me because he is very close to Shivakumar. Both are brothers,” Yatnal told TV9.
Yatnal’s statements—both inside the House and outside of it—have garnered more attention than the BJP’s official stand on various issues, giving the ruling party more wriggle room inside the Assembly.
To make matters worse, a rebel faction within the BJP has added to Vijayendra’s troubles.
A group, comprising Yatnal, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Kumar Bangarappa, G.M. Siddeshwara, N.S. Santosh, B.P. Harish and several other BJP leaders have been seeking an audience with the BJP high command to oust Vijayendra.
“The high command’s feedback to us has been positive since the organisation in Karnataka is at a low. The high command has said that they will get back to us after the ongoing parliament session,” one member of the dissident group told ThePrint, requesting anonymity. Vijayendra’s continuance as the state BJP president has been a matter of intense speculation in the Karnataka unit, with the high command offering no clarity.
He has completed two years in office. This has also fuelled hopes among dissidents of a possible change in state leadership. On Yatnal, the leader said the BJP high command was ‘forced’ to expel him owing to pressure from the Karnataka leadership.
“There are a number of instances where the BJP has taken disciplinary action. One case can’t be taken up in isolation. But the high command has assured that this issue (Yatnal’s reinstatement) will be taken up when the new committee comes in,” the leader added.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)