Synopsis
The Karnataka BJP is expected to appoint a new president in November due to internal conflicts between the camps of current president BY Vijayendra and senior MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. The internal struggle has weakened the BJP, allowing Congress to gain advantages, including winning recent bypolls.
AgenciesBengaluru: The Karnataka unit of the BJP is expected to have a new president next month amid growing infighting in the party torn between the camps led by incumbent president BY Vijayendra and senior MLA Basanagouda Patil (Yatnal).
Vijayendra was named president in November 2023 after the BJP suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Congress in the assembly polls in May that year.
Organisational polls for electing mandal and district presidents are on, a senior leader said. The BJP would take up election of its national president only after it completes the appointments of state unit chiefs, he added. The Yatnal camp is preparing to seize the opportunity and seek a replacement for Vijayendra, who is also the son of BJP Parliamentary Board member BS Yediyurappa. Union minister and Karnataka election in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan‘s statement about the impending state president’s election has galvanised both camps to pursue their plans. Elections don’t mean polling, it can happen by consensus too, a senior BJP leader said.
Except on a couple of occasions, including the electoral fight between Mallikarjuna Kharge and Shashi Tharoor, political parties usually avoid polling to build a sense of camaraderie. In Karnataka too, the leadership may go by consensus, he added.
There had been a war of statements in the ruling Congress too suggesting Dy chief minister DK Shivakumar be relieved of the party’s state president post, but its leaders have retreated into silence after Kharge issued a stern warning. But the exchange of abuses between the two factions in the BJP have only worsened despite the Vijayendra camp wishing a pause.
When Vijayendra was named the state unit chief, sections of senior leaders stomached it grudgingly. In the months that followed, the gulf between Vijayendra and opponents only widened with each side firing verbal abuses at the other, weakening the saffron party’s momentum against the Congress. As the internal strife roiled the BJP, the Congress walked away with the three assembly seats in the November bypolls.
Two months ago, a section of party MPs led by Union minister Pralhad Joshi sought the intervention of home minister Amit Shah to restore order in the party. Senior leaders say Vijayendra’s earlier appointment was ad hoc, but the new president will have a full term of three years. There are possibilities that the party may continue him in the post if numbers weigh in his favour.
Both Vijayendra and Yatnal belong to the influential Lingayat community, also the state’s largest vote bank. As the BJP feud showed no signs of abating, industries minister MB Patil on Sunday said about 25 BJP-JDS MLAs were keen to join the Congress unconditionally as they are fed up with their party affairs.
( Originally published on Jan 19, 2025 )
