NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa (BSY) may have fended off an immediate crisis to his one and half year old government on Sunday, by publicly declaring that he will “quit his post” if the BJP central leadership of his party asks him to do so, referring to the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah-led BJP high command.
But, factional trouble is brewing in the state, with some younger leaders restless to earn their turn at wielding power, may not have ended for good as their efforts to do away with the old guard have support from a section of the central party organisation, according to party sources.
BSY’s offer to resign from office may have put his opponents on the backfoot for now, since it provided his supporters to come out in the open and back him, and pushed the fence sitters in the camp to take a call, to ensure the government did not fall.
But state party leaders say, BSY’s opponents within the party have been in touch with BJP’s national general secretary B L Santhosh, who hails from the state and is perceived as the “number three” leader right after PM Modi and home minister Shah in the party hierarchy, who can take their case directly to the high command.
Hence, while BSY is seen as the most powerful leader of the party in the state even at his 75-years-plus age, Santhosh is perceived as the post powerful leader from the state at the Centre.
In fact, he is the second national general secretary of the party after former Union minister Ananth Kumar who passed away in 2018.
Trouble for the rival camp is that the BJP high command of Modi-Shah at the Centre, have left it to the state leaders to decide on their fate right from the time that the party toppled the Congress-JDS coalition government in 2019 to form government in the state for a fourth time and more importantly, do not favour an open rift in the ruling regime in Bengaluru, especially when the raging pandemic in the state needs to be controlled on priority basis.
Also, BSY continues to wield considerable popularity among MLAs and BJP supporters in the state.
Hence any overt attempt to overthrow him could invite trouble for BJP, which is why the central leadership had to make an exception in accepting BSY as CM in 2019, even as he did not fit the party’s new norm of disqualifying those beyond 75 years of age.
But the main problem with the rebel group is too many names cropping up as CM aspirants which could cause fresh dissentions breaking out.
Since BJP’s main support base in Karnataka lies with the Lingayat community, names of Laxman Savadi (deputy CM), Murgesh Nirani (BSY cabinet minister), Basangouda Yatnal (MLA), Basavaraj Bommai (BSY cabinet minister) have been thrown up.
Among the others are C N Ashwathnarayan (deputy CM, Vokkaliga community), Pralhad Joshi, (Union minister, brahmin), Eshwarappa (BSY cabinet minister, Kuruba community), Govind Karjol (deputy CM, Dalit), and Sunil Kumar, Idiga (OBC).