Bengaluru: Former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar has accused BJP national general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh of “destroying the party’s chances” in the upcoming assembly elections and “finishing off” senior leaders as part of his “gameplan” to take absolute control of the BJP state unit.
A six-time MLA and prominent Lingayat face, Shettar joined the Congress Monday after he was denied a ticket by the BJP — one of the most high-profile exits in the run-up to the 10 May polls. He will be contesting from the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) seat — which he represented in the outgoing Lower House — on a Congress ticket after BJP denied him the opportunity.
While speaking to mediapersons Tuesday, Shettar went on a tirade against Santosh, who he referred to as ‘Manasaputra’ (the ‘mind-born’ sons of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, who is believed to have created a number of children from his mind).
“When I studied all this, I realised that there was a conspiracy. The central leaders knew that Jagadish Shettar had the possibility of winning with an even bigger margin. When it came to the question of denial of ticket, what I saw was one prominent person. There may be other people with this person but who I saw immediately is the person who everyone reveres…B.L. Santhosh. He is the main reason for all this,” Shettar told reporters in Dharwad Tuesday.
The ex-CM also trained his guns on Tamil Nadu BJP president and election co-incharge for the party in Karnataka K Annamalai, Karnataka party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel and several others, accusing them of pushing their own candidates and “humiliating” senior leaders, forcing their departure.
Apart from Shettar, other senior state BJP leaders who have quit after being denied tickets include ex-deputy CM and Lingayat leader Laxman Savadi, and K.S. Eshwerappa.
A divisive figure in Karnataka politics, B.L. Santhosh commands staunch loyalty from a section of BJP leaders, but also evokes strong emotions from those who oppose his “excessive interference” in state affairs.
On Tuesday, Shettar also claimed that a few individuals from Santhosh’s camp have kept the state under their tight fists.
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Santhosh’s ‘plotting’ & Lingayat conundrum
Santhosh, a Brahmin, shares a tumultuous relationship with former chief minister and tallest Lingayat leader B.S. Yediyurappa. He had earlier been accused of sidelining Yediyurappa and being responsible for his ouster from the top chair in 2021. There were also reports of the former allegedly trying to take over as chief minister himself, leading to resistance from opposing camps from the dominant Lingayat community.
Shettar Tuesday claimed that Santhosh “plotted” to give state BJP general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai the ticket from Hubli-Dharwad (Central), and that will have an impact on the party’s chances across the state.
Shettar’s exit and Yediyurappa’s decision not to contest elections — which many believe were not voluntary — have added to the party’s growing discord with the Lingayat community, which has backed the BJP since 2008. Former deputy CM Laxman Savadi also parted with the BJP and is contesting from Athani on a Congress ticket, adding to the list of Lingayat leaders jumping ship and lending to claims that members of this community were being ill-treated by the party.
The community also wavered in its support during Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s initial reluctance to heed to the group’s reservation-related demands and agitation.
Shettar told reporters that he had aired his concerns at state BJP core committee meetings about “whispering campaigns” against him but no one paid any attention to the same. “This is not about disturbing one constituency but will lead to cracks in the party’s foundation in the entire state,” he said.
The former chief minister alleged that several other senior leaders of the party missed out on tickets because of Santhosh, who has “a poor record” of election losses.
‘Modi, Shah not being given all info about discord’
Shettar also claimed that Dharmendra Pradhan, Arun Singh and other senior leaders who are in charge of Karnataka were not providing all the information about ground level discord to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
On Annamalai, he said: “There are several people who have won six, seven times. But a person who has never contested elections is made co-incharge of Karnataka.”
He added that former chief ministers like himself and D.V. Sadananda Gowda were made to sit in the second row at most party meetings like “small boys” while Annamalai and others sat in the front chairs. “When we were in power, he was an IPS officer who took orders from us. After he joined the BJP and became co-incharge, we had to sit in front of them like small boys. Why do we need this humiliation?”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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