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As Karnataka prepares for Rajya Sabha polls, friction grows in state unit
Though senior party leaders in Delhi have downplayed the friction, the opposition in Karnataka is using the opportunity to corner the BS Yediyurappa-led government.
The rumblings of dissent have grown in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Karnataka unit over the nominations for the two of the state’s four vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha (RS), which goes to the polls on June 19.
Though senior party leaders in Delhi have downplayed the friction, the opposition in Karnataka is using the opportunity to corner the BS Yediyurappa-led government.
On Wednesday, opposition leader Siddaramaiah claimed on social media that disgruntled BJP leaders had met him to express their displeasure with the party.
Of the four RS vacant seats in Karnataka, the BJP is expecting to win two and the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) are likely to fight it out for the other two.
Last week, a late-night meeting was attended by over a dozen BJP members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) from north Karnataka. The meeting is being perceived as a mark of rebellion against the Yediyurappa government, which is also preparing for the upcoming state legislative council elections.
Reports suggested that the BJP lawmakers from north Karnataka met at senior party MLA Umesh Katti’s residence. Katti himself is eyeing a place in the state cabinet, while also seeking an Upper House berth for his brother.
The murmurs of dissent have not gone down well with the party brass in the national capital.
“Everyone has an aspiration to either become a minister or get a ticket to contest an election. These decisions cannot be taken on the basis of arm-twisting. There is a system in place, where the parliamentary board takes its decision that needs to be followed in every state,” said a BJP functionary in Delhi, requesting anonymity.
Discord is brewing over the distribution of 24 by-poll tickets in the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh (MP) unit and also over the selection of a new party president in Himachal Pradesh (HP).
In MP, where the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government made a comeback after being out of power for 15 months; there is disquiet over the possibility of 22 rebel MLAs being given tickets for the by-poll to 24 assembly constituencies, whenever the Election Commission of India (ECI) announces the dates.
Earlier, state unit president VD Sharma had told HT that the “sacrifices” made by the Congress MLAs, who broke away from the party that led to the ouster of the Kamal Nath government, would have to be taken into consideration.
Several leaders in MP, who are aspiring for by-poll tickets, have also raised the issue with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological brain trust. These leaders had pointed out that overlooking its own party cadre would not incentivise party discipline, according to a BJP leader from MP, who is privy to the development.
HP is the latest state to report dissent in the BJP’s ranks after Rajeev Bindal stepped down as the party president because his name figured, albeit in an oblique manner, in a corruption scandal of the health department.
“There are a couple of contenders for the president’s post; and as is natural, their support groups have been holding meetings. There is, however, no threat to the Jairam Thakur-led state government. The resignation in itself was an internal course correction and this is not an issue that can be politicised (by the opposition),” said a BJP leader.
“There’s no threat to any of the state governments. All decisions will be made by the high command after following the due process,” said a third leader, who declined to be named.
Earlier in February, BJP leader from Maharashtra Eknath Khadse had accused the party of sidelining senior other backward class (OBC) leaders after his name did not figure in the list of candidates for the member of legislative council (MLC) elections. Former Maharashtra ministers such as Pankaja Munde and Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who were also overlooked, have refrained from making any comment in public, but have made their displeasures known for the party snub.
Political analyst Shirish Kashikar said the BJP has been following the model of further weakening the opposition wherever it is on a weak wicket. “Each state unit has its own dynamics, and it is obvious that there will be friction if old party workers are made to compete for posts or tickets with their erstwhile opponents. In each of these cases, the disagreements are not so intense or deep that the opposition can instigate defection or cause the government to fall, as it had happened when the BJP engineered the fall of the Kamal Nath government in MP,” said Kashikar.
