The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s decision to deny tickets to some senior leaders has stirred the pot in Karnataka ahead of this year’s Lok Sabha elections, bolstering voices of dissent within its ranks.
Some of the disgruntled leaders have threatened to fight the elections as Independent candidates, causing a degree of unease in the party that won 25 of the 28 seats in the southern state five years ago. The BJP state leadership has said they are in talks with dissidents to pacify them, even though political analysts say the perceived discord might not hurt the party much. While the BJP is eyeing a repeat of its stellar 2019 performance, the state’s ruling Congress party is confident of its prospects. Karnataka will vote in two phases on April 26 and May 4, and results will be out on June 4.
From Bengaluru to Tumakuru to Shimoga and Belagavi, leaders who were expecting to be renominated as BJP picks or considered for the list, appear upset at the denial of tickets. They are now expressing their disappointment; some have even gone to the extent of talking of “purifying the BJP” from the “clutches of dynastic politics” — an indirect reference to former chief minister BS Yediyurappa (BSY), who denies all charges against him.
Karadi Sanganna Amarappa, BJP MP from Kolar, is among the latest to join the rebellious bandwagon by announcing his desire to contest as an Independent candidate, just like senior BJP leader and former deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa. Karadi was dropped, and Basavaraj Kyavater was named the BJP candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls instead.
JC Madhuswamy, former Karnataka law minister and a BJP leader from Tumakuru who faced electoral defeat in the Chikkanayakanahalli seat in the 2023 Assembly polls, was hoping to get a Lok Sabha ticket from Tumakuru. With V Somanna being named as the official candidate from the seat, Madhuswamy has refused to back Somanna’s campaign.
‘Go Back Shettar’ Posters in Belagavi
After local BJP karyakartas protested against Udupi-Chikkamgalur MP Shobha Karandlaje in her constituency with “Go Back” slogans, now posters saying “Go Back Shettar” have begun doting Belagavi, with local BJP leaders expressing displeasure over Jagadish Shettar’s defection to the Congress and then U-turn to the BJP. Shettar, former chief minister of the state, is speculated to be the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for the Belagavi seat. The party has so far announced its picks for 267 seats. Rest of the candidates, including its pick for Belagavi, are expected in the upcoming BJP lists.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, six-time MLA Shettar, who was asked to step aside by the BJP high command during selection of candidates for the Hubballi-Dharwad seat, jumped ship to the Congress. The Congress gave him a ticket from the seat, but Shettar lost the election. He was later made an MLC. However, nine months later, Shettar rejoined the BJP, which, he claimed, was a decision based on his supporters forcing him to return. Sections of the local BJP leadership consider Shettar “an outsider in Belagavi”, leading the “Go Back” campaign.
Need For Purification, But Won’t Join Congress: Sadananda Gowda
Another former chief minister, Sadananda Gowda, has announced that rumours about him jumping ship to the Congress are unfounded and said that he would rather stay in the BJP and “purify it”.
“There is a need for purification of the Karnataka BJP unit,” said Gowda WHEN, taking a veiled dig at BJP Parliamentary Board member Yediyurappa amid allegations of the senior leader calling the shots on ticket selection in Karnataka.
“Those who are responsible for the state unit have now become selfish. It has become common word amongst people that the BJP is under the control of one person, his children, family members and their ‘chelas’ (followers). There is a need to rid the party of such kind of control and a major step is needed for this kind of purification to bring an end to nepotism,” Gowda told reporters.
Gowda was expecting to be nominated as the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for the Bengaluru North seat. But the party announced Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje as its pick. While the state BJP unit has been trying to pacify the leader by offering him the Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha seat, Gowda appears to be in no mood to accept the peace offering.
The Eshwarappa Rebellion
Former deputy chief minister and popular OBC leader Eshwarappa has decided to join hands with his once-close friend Gowda and has vowed to “fight against the dynasty politics that is being seen in the present Karnataka BJP under the leadership of BSY’s son BY Vijayendra.”
A leader with deep-rooted Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) values, Eshwarappa had long been known as a close associate of BSY as they played a pivotal role in building the BJP in Karnataka and bringing the party to power for the first time in the state — thus, opening the national party’s first southern account.
His son has not been able to cement a position in the BJP, while BSY’s sons have been enjoying plump positions. BY Vijayendra, BSY’s younger son, is the Shikaripura MLA and the state BJP president, while BY Raghavendra has been a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Shimoga, the region where Eshwarappa has a strong political footprint.
Eshwarappa is said to be miffed over the denial of BJP Lok Sabha ticket to his son Kanthesh for the Haveri seat. Basavaraj Bommai, former chief minister and a close associate of BSY, was given the Haveri ticket. Eshwarappa had earlier told News18 that the BJP had promised the ticket to Kanthesh after having denied him a ticket in the assembly polls. Eshwarappa has rejected a peace offering of giving Kanthesh a ticket in the upcoming legislative council polls from the graduates’ constituency.
Eshwarappa, who said he will contest as an Independent candidate, has vowed to ensure the defeat of BY Raghavendra, the elder son of BSY, who has been given the Shimoga ticket.
‘Rebellion Won’t Have an Impact’
Sandeep Shastri, a senior political analyst and the Director of academics at NiTTe educational trust, has said that the rebellion in the Karnataka BJP is a “state-level battle of trust”. After the BJP’s miserable performance in the assembly elections, when BSY and his sons were brought back, those who were sidelined are now seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of the situation.
“I don’t think this kind of rebellion will have an impact on the BJP as the leaders protesting, with due respect to their age, are past their prime. With the BJP making it a PM-centric election and all the 28 BJP candidates campaigning that voting for them would be one more seat for Modi in the Lok Sabha, it will be more effective,” Shastri said.
Shastri added that two other factors that could pose a problem for the BJP are the alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), going awry, and the impact the Congress’s five poll guarantees on the ground.
He said though the BJP has conceded three seats to the JD(S), Sumalatha Ambareesh, who was hopeful of the Mandya seat, may contest once again as an Independent with tacit support from both parties.
“Even in Kolar, one needs to see if the BJP cadre will work with the JD(S), with the seat being given to the regional party as part of the alliance,” the analyst added.
On the Congress’s five guarantees, the analyst said there are reports that the state’s ruling party has been able to gain a high level of support, especially amongst the lower middle class. These two factors will have more impact on BJP’s chances rather than the rebellion, the analyst said.
BJP Will Win: BSY
Last week, BSY said that efforts were being made to pacify miffed leaders of the party, including Eshwarappa. Stressing that the situation would soon be under control, he added that the BJP will win 25-26 seats in Karnataka in Lok Sabha polls.
“There is a wave in favour of the BJP across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to become the Prime Minister for the third time. We will win 25-26 seats in the state,” BSY said.