Shah on Tuesday, Nadda on Wednesday: Bommai meets BJP leaders as Karnataka unit awaits plan

Shah is said to have directed Bommai to work on highlighting the corruption charges and failures of the incumbent Congress government in Karnataka.

The former Karnataka chief minister is said to have orally submitted a report to Shah about all the latest political developments in the closed-door meeting.

Bommai’s office insisted that the discussion centred around the rise in communal tensions and corruption charges against the Siddaramaiah government.

Shah has also assured Bommai of speeding up the appointment of the Opposition leader for both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council in Karnataka, claimed sources in the party.

Meanwhile, the state leaders are gearing up to form a separate team of senior leaders of the cadre to spearhead the agitation against the ruling Congress government in Karnataka.

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In the meeting 

In a meeting with the Union home minister, Bommai said he orally submitted a report on the latest political developments in Karnataka.

The Congress government implementation of five guarantees, corruption charges, transfer allegations, increasing communal tensions, and other issues in the state were discussed with Shah, he said.

ಇಂದು ದೆಹಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಗೃಹ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಹಕಾರ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಅಮಿತ್ ಶಾ ಅವರನ್ನು ಸೌಹಾರ್ದಯುತವಾಗಿ ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಹಲವು ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚಿಸಿದೆನು. @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/3FXROC2Nkp

— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) August 8, 2023

Officials at Bommai’s office said: “Bommai also spoke about increasing communal tensions under the Congress regime in the state. He also spoke about transfer, corruption, and development issues of the state with the union home minister.”

Reacting to this, Shah directed the Bommai to stage counter-protests against the Siddaramaiah government in the state.

“The Congress is planning to face the Lok Sabha elections on the five poll guarantees. He [Shah] instructed the BJP’s Karnataka unit to give a proper counter to the government by highlighting its failure in implementing guarantees and launching protests against the corruption charges while keeping an eye on the forthcoming parliament elections,” claimed the officials at Bommai’s office.

Also read: Was letter to Karnataka Governor alleging corruption fake?

High-level team to appoint LoP

“Bommai asked the high command to speed up the appointment of Opposition leaders for both the Houses and state president. He also expressed concerns before Shah that he was not able to respond properly to the party workers and others over delay in the appointment of the LoP,” claimed an official at Bommai’s office.

“Shah asked Bommai and state leaders not to worry about the pending appointments. He has assured of setting up a high-level committee for the appointment of major posts, including the LoP,” he added.

“He has also directed the state leaders to collect a public opinion about the five guarantees after they are implemented in the state,” said an official.

It may be noted that even three months after the results of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls were declared and two sessions — including the budget session — were completed in the state, the BJP high command was yet to appoint the LoP for both Houses.

The tenure of state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel — an MP from Dakshina Kannada — ended in August 2022, but he was given an extension for the 10 May Assembly polls.

However, the saffron cadre failed to win the hearts of the people: The BJP managed to win only 66 out of the 224 Assembly seats.

After the BJP central leadership dropped four-time MLA CT Ravi as its general secretary, there are strong speculations in the political circles that he was likely to succeed Kateel as the state party head.

Also read: ‘Headless’ in legislature, Karnataka BJP protests against Congress

A team to fight Congress

As the BJP high command is yet to appoint LoPs and a new state president, the party’s state unit’s senior leaders are gearing up to set up a separate team to take up against the ruling Congress government in the state.

This team is likely to consist of senior party leaders including Bommai, Padmanabanagara MLA R Ashok, Malleswaram MLA CN Ashwath Narayan, former ministers CT Ravi and Govind Karjol, and BJP state general secretary and MLC N Ravikumar, claimed sources.

“The state leaders are planning to form a team of senior leaders to fight against the ruling Congress government in the state. Though the major appointments, including LoP, are yet to be made, state president Kateel is still active. This team will spearhead the BJP in the state until the appointments are made,” claimed the sources.

Responding to this, BJP MLC Ravikumar told South First: “We are yet to form a team. We are still thinking about it. The decision will be announced at the earliest. It is too early to comment.”