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Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Vijayendra or no Vijayendra, BJP unity may still prove elusive in Karnataka
Bengaluru: BJP's central leadership faces a catch-22 situation over whether to retain or replace Karnataka unit president BY Vijayendra, with dissent threatening to fracture the party and crimp its chances of a comeback in the 2028 assembly elections. Vijayendra's elevation was seen as a move to keep his father and Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa engaged. But a source said: "It has deepened the generational divide. Many seniors feel they are being sidelined, and they are not hiding their resentment anymore. Whether Yediyurappa still commands the same support of the Lingayat community is a million-dollar question." Discontent spiked after Vijayapura legislator Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was expelled for criticising the party brass, but an MLA from the anti-Yediyurappa camp said the fire of discontentment is still raging. "Several MLAs and former ministers feel the party is being run like a private company," the legislator said. "Vijayendra's stint so far has been insignificant. The party did not get desired results in the Lok Sabha polls under his watch. Members are also upset that decisions are being taken unilaterally." You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Former deputy CM KS Eshwarappa has also repeatedly criticised the state unit, insisting BJP is being "hijacked by a small group". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pirates Climb Aboard Cargo Ship - Watch What The Captain Did Next Tips and Tricks Undo "If things don't change, many will be forced to explore other options," he said. Both Eshwarappa and Yatnal have hinted at forming a separate outfit, and it may take shape if Vijayendra continues as state chief. Though such a move may have limited statewide impact, it could hurt BJP in key constituencies. BJP's high command has not taken a public stance, but party sources confirm that deliberations are on. Union minister V Somanna, former minister Murugesh Nirani, and BJP MP Ramesh Katti are being considered as possible replacements. "It's not just about who comes in. It's about how to handle Yediyurappa and his support base," said political analyst Vishwas Shetty. "It is said Yediyurappa has gone into isolation and is not talking to anyone as he awaits BJP leadership's decision." Congress, buoyed by its 2023 assembly victory, is watching closely. One member said: "They used to accuse Congress of dynasty politics. Now their entire state unit is run by one family. The party is in complete chaos, and people are watching." A senior Congress strategist added that the party is eyeing expansion in BJP strongholds in north Karnataka. "With Yediyurappa's influence waning and internal fights erupting, we see a golden opportunity to build a footprint," he said. Yet, some political thinkers see merit in backing Vijayendra. Prof Harish Ramaswamy said "unity in division and divided opinions and factions" have been a "hallmark" of BJP. "For a party which needs a generational shift in leadership, it cannot but inevitably afford Vijayendra," said Ramaswamy. "He is young, has a lineage, belongs to a forward community — one that has numbers. He is articulate. Knows politics by internship and practice . " Ramaswamy said Vijayendra would need to sharpen his skills while experience would make him wiser. "Parliamentary practice will help him," he said. "He should learn from his father the art of taking partymen along. Shifting leaders often can only breed more factions, thus causing election defeats for a party struggling to establish itself in southern India." Still, many within the party believe that the deeper issue goes beyond leadership. "Vijayendra or no Vijayendra, the unit is no longer united — and that's the real crisis." ———- Quote He (Vijayendra) should learn from his father the art of taking partymen along. Shifting leaders often can only breed more factions, thus causing election defeats for a party struggling to establish itself in southern India -Prof Harish Ramaswamy, political analyst
Hans India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Congress-led govt is bankrupt, says former CM
Bengaluru: BJP Central Parliamentary Board member and former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, alleged that the Congress-led state government has gone 'completely bankrupt' as it does not have enough funds to release for undertaking any development work in the state. Addressing the media at the State BJP Office 'Jagannath Bhavan', in Bengaluru, Yediyurappa said, 'We have repeatedly pointed out that the (Congress) government is bankrupt. No development work is taking place in the state. The government is in no position to release funds for any developmental activities.' He also said that no funds have been released for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme for the past three months. Under the Anna Bhagya scheme, the state government owes around Rs 250 crore in pending payments to lorry owners who transport foodgrains. He urged the state government to immediately call a meeting with G.R. Shanmugappa, President of the Lorry Owners' Association, and take necessary action. He claimed that every programme of the Congress government is merely for publicity, with no sincere attempt to implement them effectively. 'All these facts and documents clearly show that the government is bankrupt,' he said. Yediyurappa demanded that the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and other Ministers acknowledge the ground reality and disclose the true financial status of the state. Meanwhile, State BJP President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra has alleged that the Congress government is sabotaging the Anna Bhagya free rice scheme that was launched by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself. Speaking to the media in Shivamogga on Tuesday, Vijayendra said, 'They initially promised 10 kg of rice, which was reduced to 5 kg. Now even that is being stopped.' He remarked that Karnataka is now heading towards financial bankruptcy. He also said that the state government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah are unable to mobilise funds. The state government is even struggling to pay salaries to its employees, he added. 'The Chief Minister has lost control over governance. Even Congress MLAs have lost confidence in him. The government has no funds even to pay the lorry rent for transporting Anna Bhagya foodgrains, or to pay salaries to state employees. State Excise Minister R.B. Timmapur himself has admitted that some guarantee schemes may have to be discontinued,' Vijayendra said in response to a query. When asked about the tragic stampede incident during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory parade that led to 11 deaths, the State BJP President said, 'It was the Chief Minister himself who had tweeted and invited people to the RCB felicitation event. Now they are hiding the truth and trying to blame only RCB and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). This is part of a cover-up conspiracy.'
India Today
09-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Deadlock in BJP? Why 7 key states still await elections for chiefs
The BJP, as of July 9, has completed organisational elections in 29 of its 36 state units (including the nomination of a working president in Punjab), achieving the requisite quorum for electing a new national July 7, the Odisha unit re-elected Manmohan Samal as president. Yet, in seven politically crucial states, including strongholds Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana, the party has still not appointed new state chiefs. While the quorum for the national president's election is technically complete, the prolonged indecision in these remaining states reflects deeper factional tensions, leadership dilemmas and strategic uncertainty. The BJP constitution requires 50 per cent of the states to have elected representatives. The senior leadership wants unanimity in the matter and is also keen to complete the process in all states before the national president is party has announced the election process for unit presidents in all states except Punjab, Jharkhand, Delhi and Manipur. However, the election of district chiefs in Delhi and Jharkhand has been completed, and the process can be announced and the state presidents elected within a few days. For Punjab—where the quorum isn't in place—the party has announced a working minister Amit Shah is travelling to Ranchi on July 9-10 to take part in a meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council. He is also likely to meet the core group of the Jharkhand BJP. Meanwhile, party leaders have been in parleys with leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat to iron out the glitches. In Karnataka, more than a year after the 2024 Lok Sabha poll setback and the May 2023 assembly election defeat, the BJP has yet to resolve its leadership tussle. The state unit is split between the Lingayat old guard, led by B.S. Yediyurappa, and his arch younger son and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra is the current state unit chief, and has the backing of the national leadership for re-election. However, BJP national general secretary B.L. Santhosh continues to rally his opponents. These include former chief minister and Lok Sabha MP Basavaraj Bommai, who, along with others, is reportedly insisting on anyone but Vijayendra for the lack of a clear post-Yediyurappa consensus, combined with worries about the upcoming Bengaluru municipal elections and the erosion of Lok Sabha seats, has paralysed decision-making. The party still has no credible alternative to Yediyurappa and his son to consolidate the powerful Lingayat vote base and build a broader caste leaders privately acknowledge that replacing Yediyurappa with Bommai in July 2021 had damaged the party's support base. With the next assembly elections due in 2028 and the ruling Congress seen as drifting into factionalism, the BJP leadership is keen to keep its house Gujarat, a state the party has ruled for the past three decades, the delay is less about procedural lapses and more about turf wars. C.R. Patil, though nearing the end of his extended tenure, continues to hold informal sway. The central leadership is caught between Patil's entrenched organisational grip, chief minister Bhupendra Patel's camp and local leaders jockeying for prominence. There's also an underlying caste calculation—balancing Patidar dominance with rising OBC aspirations, especially as the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have made modest Pradesh, the BJP's most important electoral base, is the most sensitive case. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath's growing stature and his tight control over both governance and messaging have made the central leadership cautious. Any new state president seen as too close to Adityanath risks upsetting power equations in state chief perceived as imposed from the top could provoke resistance in Lucknow. After the party's underwhelming Lok Sabha poll performance in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Ayodhya in 2024, the leadership has not yet found a consensus candidate who can both complement and counterbalance Adityanath. The post-poll introspection highlighted growing differences between the government and the organisation. The hard bargain over this balance is delaying the Haryana, the BJP continues to operate under the shadow of former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Though he has moved to the national stage, Khattar has left behind a fractured organisation. The central leadership has yet to decide whether to bank on Khattar's legacy or elevate leaders from other month, Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh flexed his muscles by hosting a dinner for 11 BJP MLAs and Congress legislator Manju Chaudhary at his daughter Aarti Rao's new residence in Chandigarh. Singh, a Congress turncoat, has a strong base in south Haryana and adjoining parts of Rajasthan, but his advancing age is a concern. Current state president Mohan Lal Badoli is both a close aide of chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and seen as part of the Khattar camp. The resulting deadlock has left the state unit rudderless at a critical Punjab, the BJP's organisational drift has deepened. The party is still without district-level presidents in several key areas, and state chief Sunil Jakhar—originally brought in for his Congressman gravitas—has become increasingly disengaged and now even seen as a liability by some quarters. Party insiders complain Jakhar has tried to run the BJP like the Congress without understanding the party's or the Sangh Parivar's sudden death of state in-charge Vijay Rupani in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad in June further created a vacuum. On July 7, the BJP appointed party old-timer Ashwani Sharma as working president of the Punjab unit. He will now work with general secretary (organisation) Mantri Srinivas to accelerate the appointment of district-level Punjab unit lacks direction, with cadre demoralised cadre and no clear revival plan in a state where the party had once hoped to emerge as the main Opposition. All eyes are on Sharma to rebuild momentum before the assembly polls in Delhi, despite sweeping all seven Lok Sabha seats in 2024 and defeating AAP resoundingly in the assembly polls, the party has dithered over finalising a state president. District chiefs have been elected and the morale is high, but the leadership is weighing whether to continue with incumbent Virendra Sachdeva or bring in a more visible face to energise the cadre. With a 'triple engine' government—BJP at the Centre, in the state and in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi—the job of the next state unit chief becomes even more critical. While the BJP is on a strong wicket in the state, replacing Sachdeva too quickly may cause internal presents an ongoing caste conundrum. After a decent performance in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls, the BJP is struggling to strike the right caste balance. The party is torn between projecting a tribal leader to challenge the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) or consolidating its non-tribal base. Senior leader Babulal Marandi remains influential but is seen as past his peak. The delay reflects the party's broader indecision over the tribal-versus-OBC leadership debate—critical in the state's polarised political Manipur, political activity is effectively frozen. Ethnic tensions between Meitei and Kuki groups have made any organisational reshuffle unviable. Former chief minister N. Biren Singh faced opposition from within his own MLAs and has lost credibility among both communities. The state is under president's rule to restore normalcy. With law and order still fragile and the Centre treading carefully, the BJP is avoiding any visible changes that could further destabilise the to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
New Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Indira Gandhi may have passed on, but Emergency mindset remains: BS Yediyurappa
BENGALURU: The mindset that led to imposition of the Emergency in 1975 is still alive in the Congress party, said BJP Central Parliamentary Board member BS Yediyurappa. 'The person (Indira Gandhi) may have passed away, but the mindset of the party (Congress) has not changed even today... We should not forget the dark days of Emergency,' he said. Yediyurappa was speaking at an event titled '50 Years of 1975 Emergency - Dark Days', organised by Citizens for Social Justice, Bengaluru, in the city on Tuesday. Yediyurappa said the sacred Constitution was sacrificed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to continue in power. 'Judiciary, executive and the legislature were all held in her tight clutches just for the purpose of continuing in power,' he said. He said the fundamental rights of citizens were taken away, freedom of the press was muzzled, and judiciary robbed of its autonomy during the Emergency. He added that her dictatorial rule aimed solely at retaining power still evokes outrage. Slamming Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, noted columnist and economic thinker S Gurumurthy in his keynote address said, 'Rahul Gandhi was waving the Constitution of India, when PM Narendra Modi took oath in 2024, claiming to be its protector. But it was his grandmother (Indira Gandhi) who destroyed the Constitution, which was revived by the Janata Party, with support from RSS.' He questioned the Congress if it had any moral right to talk about the Constitution, rights and freedom. Gurumurthy said Indira did not become a dictator in a day, and that it began in 1969, when she split the Congress party. A photo exhibition showcasing the role of RSS workers and from various parties was held. A prison replica with an iron gate was put up in front of Town Hall, to reflect the dark days of Emergency.
The Hindu
23-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Several dissatisfied Congress MLAs are keen to join BJP, says Shettar
As the episode of alleged corruption in housing allotments took a serious turn with a ruling Congress MLA threatening to quit, the BJP mounted an attack at the Congress government, while its MP and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar predicted the collapse of the government claiming that a slew of Congress MLAs were keen to join the BJP. 'This government will not stay for long. It will fall, as Congress MLAs are upset with their party's government. A lot of Congress MLAs, including Kagwad MLA Raju Kage, want to join the BJP,' Mr. Shettar told reporters in Belagavi on Monday, while responding to Mr. Kage's statement that he was so upset with the slow pace of development work in his constituency that he might resign. Mr. Shettar clarified that the BJP was not planning any 'Operation Lotus' to engineer defections from the Congress, but the Congress MLAs were volunteering to change their political loyalty. Meanwhile, BJP veteran leader B.S. Yediyurappa told presspersons in Bengaluru that it was not just Mr. Kage who was upset with the government and wanted to quit. 'There are several other Congress MLAs who are upset with their government. Each of them are going to voice their dissatisfaction. You just wait and see,' he said. Referring to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asking senior Congress MLA B. R. Patil to meet him to seek clarification on his allegations of corruption in allotments under housing schemes, Mr. Yediyurappa said the BJP was concerned that the Chief Minister may tried to silence Mr. Patil. He accused the Congress government of trying to prevent senior leaders and prominent personalities from speaking out against it by issuing threats. Mr. Yediyurappa said he would not only hold meetings of BJP workers, but would also tour the State to create public awareness about the government's alleged misdeeds. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok launched a scathing attack at Mr. Siddaramaiah by asking him to protect the dignity of the State by tendering resignation to his post.
