Bengaluru (IANS) | The Karnataka BJP unit is still a divided house even after suffering a crushing defeat in the assembly elections and losing mass base across South India ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The party leadership is struggling to promote unity and the spirit of fighting together in the cadre. The saffron party which once showed all signs of emerging as a force to be reckoned with and making inroads in South India, is falling badly behind.
It has been almost a month since the Karnataka election results were declared, but the BJP is yet to appoint the leader of the opposition in the assembly and council. The statements of former Chief Minister and BJP MP from Bangalore North DV Sadananda Gowda and National General Secretary CT Ravi have proved to be another setback for the party.
CT Ravi said that there is politics of accommodation within the BJP and the party lost in the assembly elections due to this reason. He said that we have lost power due to our mistakes. The leaders have compromised and because of these few people the party has lost power. I will not name the leaders, but the politics of accommodation is there and it resulted in the defeat of the party.
Party sources said CT Ravi’s remarks were aimed at former CM BS Yediyurappa and his son BY Vijayendra. Former CM DV Sadananda Gowda’s statements further disappointed the party workers and showed that all is not well within the party. He claimed that 13 MPs have approached him for defamation and the party high command is silent on the matter.
Sadananda Gowda said that an attempt is being made to defame 13 out of 25 MPs by calling them useless. A well-planned attempt has been made to demoralize senior MPs. He demanded that national leaders should intervene and clear the confusion at this stage.
There is still one year left for the Lok Sabha elections. In such a situation, MPs are being targeted and they are being maligned. He alleged that I do not know who is behind this. Rumors are being spread that 13 MPs have not done any development work in their constituencies. Some MPs have fallen ill and will not be given tickets. Sadananda Gowda advises introspection on defeat.
The BJP had recently held a meeting of its MLAs and the candidates who lost the elections. These candidates questioned the party’s decision to allot tickets to them at a very late stage and give a wrong signal to the people of the state. However, the party has postponed the scheduled core committee meeting. Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh has taken the opinion of various leaders and is looking at the party high command.
On the other hand, Congress is taking major steps towards consolidating its support in the state. The party has filled the entire cabinet quota and has started preparations for the crucial Bengaluru civic polls and the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is targeting and questioning the ideology of the BJP and the RSS. The high command is ensuring coordination between CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar. The pair of these two is looking dangerous for BJP.
BJP sources said the party was showing no seriousness in trying to understand why the 54 sitting MLAs, including several ministers, lost the elections. The experiment of issuing tickets to 72 new faces has turned upside down. The deposits of more than 40 candidates have been forfeited in the elections. Leaders are bravely trying to put up a front by talking about vote percentage.
–IANS
