The stage has been set for the election of the Karnataka BJP chief, with present state BJP president BY Vijayendra and social gathering MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal saying their intent to contest the polls. Whereas Vijayendra leads a faction loyal to his father and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Yatnal is from the camp of BJP nationwide basic secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh.
On Tuesday, Yatnal expressed confidence of securing a win if he contested for the state BJP chief’s submit. “My victory is imminent,” Yatnal introduced to the media.
A day later, former minister Kumar Bangarappa who’s a key aide of Yatnal, mentioned an official announcement of candidates from their camp could be made on January 31 — indicating that the decks might need been cleared for Yatnal.
The factionalism inside the Karnataka BJP unit has intensified over the previous couple of weeks. After a BJP core committee assembly held final week, former minister B Sriramulu attacked Vijayendra and mentioned the present BJP president had not backed him when he was allegedly going through assaults from BJP basic secretary Radha Mohan Das Agrawal over the social gathering’s defeat in a bypoll within the Sandur constituency final November.
Within the election, the Congress’s E Annapoorna defeated the BJP’s B Hanumanthu by 9,000 votes. Hanumanthu and Sriramulu are each from the Bellary district and are shut aides.
After the assembly, former Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda dubbed Vijayendra an “advert hoc chief” and claimed an “official president” would emerge quickly. Gowda mentioned, “When discharging his duty as president, he (Vijayendra) didn’t reach taking the camp against him into confidence.”
Chikkaballapur MP Ok Sudhakar additionally took on Vijayendra publicly Wednesday. “He takes not one of the leaders into confidence. Other than destroying the social gathering within the state, he’s attempting to complete me off politically,” he advised a information convention. Sudhakar additionally charged that he was not consulted in the course of the choice of office-bearers in Chikkaballapur.
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Sudhakar, who was minister within the erstwhile BJP authorities, mentioned he would take his complaints to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and House Minister Amit Shah. “Vijayendra can’t be in comparison with his father Yediyurappa. He’s indignant with me as a result of I labored with (MP and former CM) Basavaraj Bommai,” he mentioned.
Seen as politically “inexperienced”, Vijayendra was appointed the BJP state president in November 2023, after the social gathering’s defeat within the Might 2023 Karnataka Meeting polls. He changed Nalin Kumar Kateel, superseding a number of senior leaders, a transfer that didn’t go down properly with many within the BJP.
Elections for the state BJP president are anticipated to be held within the month of February after the election course of for the district BJP items is accomplished. Whereas it’s not a precedent, the potential for an election was indicated earlier this month by Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan who’s accountable for organisational polls within the state. The primary indication that there was going to be a battle was seen proper after Vijayendra grew to become president, when Yatnal mentioned his management couldn’t be accepted.
