BJP’s Karnataka poll bid hit by Mahadayi water sharing row

The troubling aspect of the protests for Yeddyurappa, and the BJP in the state, was the threat from farmers of helping defeat the party if it did not act fast.

Standing outside the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) state office here, SB Jogannavar, a farmer from Nargund in Gadag district, recounted the assurances party’s Karnataka president BS Yeddyurappa had made while ensuring that the Mahadayi river water diversion project would become a reality.

Karnataka BJP BS Yeddyurappa flashes victory sign along with the party members to celebrate the party's victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, in Bengaluru on December 18, 2017. (PTI)

The project hit a roadblock in 2010 with the setting up of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal, with Goa objecting to the proposed diversion of water from the river’s tributaries. As a result, farmers in the Mumbai-Karnataka region – comprising Belagavi, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Gadag, Viajayapura and Haveri districts – in the northern part of the state are up in arms.

Anger against Yeddyurappa boiled over the past week after he made public a letter from Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar, expressing willingness to discuss the diversion of water for drinking purposes, at a rally in Hubballi. “If (Parrikar) was sincere, he would have written to the Karnataka government and not his own party leader,” Jogannavar said.

Add to this the perception that BJP’s national leaders have “failed to ensure any discussion” on the issue. “Of the three states that are party to the dispute, Goa and Maharashtra are governed by BJP. So, they should have taken the lead on this.”

The troubling aspect of the protests for Yeddyurappa, and the BJP in the state, was the threat from farmers of helping defeat the party if it did not act fast. With assembly elections around the corner, in May, the BJP cannot afford any serious erosion in its base in this region.

The party’s victory in 2008, was possible in large part to the 36 seats it captured in this region. In 2013 elections, the BJP managed to win just 12 seats in the region.

The BJP has reacted to the farmers’ protest by calling it “a Congress ploy” to discredit it. The Congress says the saffron party “has exposed itself to ridicule by creating such a gimmick”.