BENGALURU: Though chief minister BS Yediyurappa is set to complete two years in office on July 26 battling a perception war around the pandemic, he is still struggling to douse the fire of dissent in the party.
The last one year has been tough for the 78-year-old CM as he faced discomfiture on many occasions when some of his own party MLAs and ministers publicly attacked him and his son BY Vijayendra on several fronts.
Disgruntled legislators like Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, H Vishwanath and Arvind Bellad continued to target Yediyurappa and his son even after BJP national general secretary Arun Singh and Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and DV Sadananda Gowda ruled out leadership change.
What has been more embarrassing for Yediyurappa is that some of his own cabinet colleagues, including KS Eshwarappa and CP Yogeeshwara, have accused the CM and Vijayendra of interfering in their respective departments.
Though Yatnal has been vociferously targeting Yediyurappa by making personal attacks against the CM and his son, the party so far has made no effort to initiate any action. While a showcause notice was issued to Yatnal some six months ago, the party did not initiate action after he provided a lengthy reply.
The BJP brass had deployed Arun Singh to Karnataka after some MLAs sought a platform to air their grievances, but this also failed to ensure a semblance of order in the state unit. Singh, who was on a three-day visit to the state last month, had warned dissidents of stern action, but nothing happened. His effort to resolve differences seems to have been futile as leaders continue to publicly make statements against the CM and his son. Vishwanath had openly accused Yediyurappa in the presence of Singh.
On Monday, Yatnallaunched a tirade against Yediyurappa and Vijayendra by making some strong accusations against them. On Sunday, Yogeeshwara said leadership change may happen before Dasara in October.
Whenever dissident activities flare up, this has been state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel’s common refrain: “Dissidents’ statements have been brought to the attention of the party’s disciplinary committee and the high command will take an appropriate decision after considering all issues.’’
Some BJP MLAs said dissidence couldn’t have happened without the backing of the leadership. “We are gathering evidence against dissenters and in due course, they will face the consequences of their actions,” said some party functionaries.
Yediyurappa has chosen not to react to statements of Yatnal, Vishwanath or Yogeeshwara.
