BJP eyes balancing formula for bypoll campaign strategy in Karnataka

Bommai said he was likely to spend two days each in Hanagal and Sindgi but added that his predecessor, BS Yediyurappa, will start his campaign only after October 20.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said he will start campaigning for the October 30 bypolls on Sunday and possibly end within four days after visiting both constituencies.

BS Yediyurappa had proposed Basavaraj Bommai’s name as Karnataka chief minister on July 27, a day after he was forced to step down from the top chair before completing his term. (HT Photo)

Bommai said he was likely to spend two days each in Hanagal and Sindgi but added that his predecessor, BS Yediyurappa, will start his campaign only after October 20 which appears to be a compromise of sorts in which the incumbent may not want to be overshadowed by the former chief minister who continues to hold significant influence over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka.

“On 17th, I will go to Hanagal. After that two days in Sindgi. I have spoken to him (Yediyurappa). After the 20th, he will go to Hanagal and Sindgi,” Bommai said on Friday after meeting his predecessor at the latter’s residence.

The statements come at a time when Bommai has been trying hard to emerge out of Yediyurappa’s shadows and try and stamp his own authority on a party and government that appear not to have accepted the former wholeheartedly.

Bommai has rushed to Yediyurappa at almost every given opportunity as the latter resides in “Cauvery”, which was meant to be the official residence of the chief minister of Karnataka.

Yediyurappa had proposed Bommai’s name as chief minister on July 27, a day after he was forced to step down from the top chair before completing his term.

The opposition political parties have already stated that the recent Income Tax (IT) raids on Yediyurappa’s secretary was to “control” the 78-year-old leader.

The former chief minister continues to have a significant influence over the dominant Lingayat community and was successful in getting Bommai, from the same community, to the top chair and scuttling any plans of the BJP to move away from caste-based politics and into Hindutva.

The BJP is yet to give its approval for Yediyurappa to start his state-wide tour in which he hopes to mobilise support for the party ahead of the Zilla and Taluka panchayat polls as well as the 2023 assembly election. Yediyurappa has taken it upon himself to bring the BJP back to power which, people aware of the developments fear, would lead to the 78-year-old continuing to tighten his grip on the party and not allow Delhi a free-hand to run the state.

Leaders like Yediyurappa, Siddaramaiah and HD Deve Gowda among others have been part and parcel of Karnataka’s deeply caste-influenced society and politics over the decades that has shaped their careers and the discourse in the state. The Lingayats are believed to back Yediyurappa and the BJP, the backward classes, Dalits and minorities are known to side with the Congress. The JD(S) is believed to derive their strength and numbers in the assembly elections with the backing of the Vokkaligas, another dominant community found in majoritative numbers in the Old Mysuru region.

BY Vijayendra, Yediyurappa’s son and state BJP vice president, was initially left out of the list of leaders for Hanagal bypolls but was later put back in the list after outcry from his supporters who see the former as the “legitimate heir” of Yediyurappa and the Lingayat community in the state.

“He (Bommai) may emerge out of Yediyurappa’s shadow but will not be able to do so from Delhi’s shadow,” said a Bengaluru-based political analyst, requesting not to be named.

The analyst said Bommai will remain a “puppet” in order to retain his chair and use Delhi to thwart any challenge to his position within the party and leaders who already nurse a feeling of neglect for choosing him (Bommai) for the top chair though he has been in the fold for just 13 years.

The analyst added that the recent twitter posts and statements by Bommai, condoning moral policing, defending Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and mooting the idea for a legislation against forcible conversions among others add to the possibility that the chief minister remains firmly under the control of Delhi.