Ugly incidents expose continuing factionalism in Karnataka BJP

Seven months after it was voted out of Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains a divided house in its only southern bastion.

The bickering within the state unit has not stopped even after BY Vijayendra, son of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, as the party chief and R Ashok as Opposition leader in the Assembly.

If the infighting over personalities was not enough, there is also a division between party leaders from northern and southern Karnataka, with the former alleging discrimination against them.

For months, the BJP in Karnataka remained rudderless after losing power to the Congress in May. Finally, after much dilly-dallying, the BJP again turned to the man they earlier sidelined — Yediyurappa.

In a stunning move that did not go down well with many in the Karnataka BJP, Yediyurappa’s legislator son was named the state unit president while Ashok was designated the Leader of the Opposition.

BJP infighting

Since then, there have been several explosions in the party, primarily by those who have traditionally been opposed to Yediyurappa or BSY, otherwise the tallest man in the BJP in Karnataka.

Leaders like Basanagouda Patil Yatnal are openly criticising the BJP state leadership and not attending meetings of the legislature wing.

“This is our fate in Karnataka whether we are in power or not,” lamented a BJP leader to The Federal.

“When BSY was the chief minister, several leaders acted against him and did not allow him to function properly and finally even made him quit his post,” he recalled.

“Now, when the BJP is not in power, again the different factions are working against each other and not allowing the party to function as an effective opposition party," he said.

The BJP’s problems came to the fore at Belgavi in northern Karnataka during the Assembly session which is held there once a year.

When Vijayendra entered the ‘well’ of the House to protest against the attacks on BJP activists, Ashok suddenly announced a walkout, confusing the BJP legislators.

While some followed Vijayendra, other trooped out of the legislature with Ashok. Amid the confusion, Vijayendra and other MLAs also walked out to save their face.

BJP dissidents

Bengaluru MLA SR Vishwanath, a follower of Vijayendra, was fuming while coming out of the Assembly. He openly used filthy language against Ashok and warned that the BJP will collapse in Karnataka due to Ashok’s lack of leadership abilities.

Later Ashok and some leaders went back to the Assembly even as Vijayendra and his team did not attend further proceedings.

In the Assembly, when Speaker UT Khader called Basanagouda Yatnal's name to congratulate Ashok as the Leader of the Opposition, he kept mum. He kept silent even after he was called a second time.

This was hugely embarrassing to the opposition party, whose MLAs kept blindly looking at one another over Yatnal’s conduct.

Betraying his thinking, Yatnal told the media that the “people of north Karnataka are not the slaves of the leaders of south Karnataka”. He said he won’t attend meetings of BJP MLAs until justice was done to north Karnataka.

Yatnal kept fuming. "Chief Minister, deputy chief minister, leader of the opposition, all the posts are going to south Karnataka,” he said openly in the Assembly. “Everyone knows how the people of north Karnataka have been treated while sharing power.”

He said that when Kumaraswamy was the chief minister, he gave a grant of Rs 125 crore for the development of Vijayapura (Yatnal's constituency). But the later BJP government took it back.

When another BJP MLA interrupted and said that Yeddyurappa had also given a grant, a furious Yatnal asked him to shut up.

Congress hand?

Yatnal went on: "After the Lok Sabha elections, family politics will end in the entire country. We aim to put an end to clan politics.” He was clearly referring to BSY and his son.

BJP MLA SR Vishwanath, who has expressed his displeasure against Ashok, has said he will not enter the opposition leader's room as long as Ashok holds the post.

BJP Parliamentary Board Member BSY, state unit president Vijayendra, Ashok and Kota Srinivasa Pujari participated in at meeting. But MLAs Yatnal, Ramesh Jarakiholi and ST Somasekhar did not attend it.

Some BJP sources said the MLAs who attended the meeting were not allowed to speak.

Somashekhar, Shivaram Hebbar and H Vishwanath attended a Congress dinner meeting in Belagavi on Thursday. These leaders are said to be in touch with the Congress.