The state BJP core committee meeting discussed appointment of LoP and state president, defection threats, and plans for the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP's Karnataka unit chaired state core committee meeting at state party headquarters in Bengaluru on 21 August. (supplied)
Amidst rumblings within the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the state core committee decided to urge the central leadership to hasten the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and the new state president. State core committee members in a meeting acknowledged that the delay in leadership appointments have left an adverse effect on the party and its cadres.
The committee’s meeting was held under the headship of BJP veteran and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa at the party headquarters on Monday, 22 August. The meeting comes barely days after senior leaders of State BJP gathered at BS Yediyurappa’s residence and requested him to take over leadership of the party until a new team was put in place to keep the house in order.
Former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and DV Sadanand Gowda, Union minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, former ministers Govind Karjol, CT Ravi, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, KS Eshwarappa, R Ashok, and other leaders participated in the core committee meeting.
In it, the senior leaders deliberated on various issues including the appointment of the LoP and state president, murmurs about two BJP leaders quitting the party and pledging allegiance to arch-rivals Congress, and preparations for the Lok Sabha elections.
Sources in the party claimed that Bommai was lobbying for the LoP post before the high command. He held talks with the high command on the matter during his recent visit to Delhi, where he met central leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
.@BJP4Karnataka ರಾಜ್ಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ಆರಂಭಗೊಂಡ ಕೋರ್ ಕಮಿಟಿ ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರೀಯ ಸಂಸದೀಯ ಮಂಡಳಿ ಸದಸ್ಯ ಹಾಗೂ ಮಾಜಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಶ್ರೀ @BSYBJP, ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ರಾಜ್ಯಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸದ ಶ್ರೀ @nalinkateel, ಮಾಜಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಶ್ರೀ @BSBommai , ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸಚಿವ ಶ್ರೀ @JoshiPralhad, ಮಾಜಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಶ್ರೀ… pic.twitter.com/8JE3275h84
— Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan (@drashwathcn) August 21, 2023
In the meeting, the BJP leaders decided to appeal to the party high command to hasten the process for the major appointments.
The BJP central leadership is yet to begin the process for the appointment of the LoP for both the Assembly and the Council, and for the state president, even over three months after the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections.
It may be noted that Bommai recently met the party’s central leaders — Amit Shah and party national president JP Nadda — and urged both to appoint the LoP and state president at the earliest.
Several other BJP leaders also met the high command and lobbied for the LoP post.
Besides Bommai, Vijayapura City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar, and Thirthahalli MLA Arga Jnanendra are in the race.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Govind Karjol told South First: “The meeting went smoothly. Deliberations were held mainly regarding the delay in the appointment of the LoP and state president, and how it was affecting the party organisation.”
He added: “The term of the state president was over in August 2022. His term was extended because of the elections.”
He also said: “After detailed discussions, it was decided to make an appeal to the high command to hasten the process for the appointment of these two major posts.”
Karjol continued: “These appointments will play a crucial role in the upcoming local body and parliament elections. The discussions were also held about how to fight against the Congress government in Karnataka.”
He also said: “We did not hold detailed talks on the Lok Sabha elections. It was confined to strengthening the party organisation, ahead of the parliament elections.”
Following strong speculations in political circles about two BJP MLAs likely to join the Congress, Yediyurappa appealed to the party leaders to quell the dissent.
Over the past week, there were murmurs about Yeshvanthapura MLA ST Somashekar and Yellapur MLA Shiavaram Hebbar planning to quit the BJP and pledge their allegiance back to the Congress.
Hundreds of followers of Somashekar joined Congress in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru. They also appealed to the Yeshvanthapura MLA to join the grand old party at the earliest.
These unprecedented developments have become a big headache for the BJP. Several leaders — including Kateel and CT Ravi — personally spoke with these MLAs and asked them not to quit the party.
On condition of anonymity, a BJP leader told South First: “There were also talks about four BJP MLAs planning to switch to Congress. However, the party leaders held detailed discussions about the latest political developments in the state. It was found that Somashekar and Hebbar are planning to leave the party.”
The leader added: “Yediyurappa directed the party’s state-level office-bearers to listen to their grievances and resolve their concerns at the earliest. We cannot trust these defectors, but the party has decided to convince them to remain.”
However, Somashekar and Hebbar have tried to clear the air by stating that they will remain with the cadre.
He continued: “The leaders also expressed concern about the party’s stringent rules of not giving tickets to those senior leaders that are aged 75 years and not giving priority to their children in the elections.”
He added: “Several senior leaders are also worried that their children would not get an opportunity in the party in future. This is one of the factors that these BJP MLAs are worried about their future and planning to leave the party.”
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