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In a break from the customary practice of addressing local leaders present on the stage during events held in a state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday did not mention any Karnataka leader with whom he shared the dais while inaugurating a slew of infrastructure projects in Mandya and Hubbali-Dharwad.
This included even Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, apart from other leaders, in what is being seen in BJP circles as a sign of displeasure over the functioning of the state unit in the run-up to the Assembly polls. Former CM B S Yediyurappa was not present at the events, ostensibly because they were government and not party events.
“Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari too was not mentioned, to send a message to local BJP leaders,” BJP sources said after the events in Karnataka on Sunday.
The BJP government in Karnataka, already been under a cloud of corruption in the wake of Congress campaigns accusing the dispensation of being a “40 per cent commission government”, received a major setback on March 2, when the Karnataka Lokayukta police arrested the son of a BJP MLA, over allegations of receiving kickbacks for state contracts.
The Lokayukta police have named BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, who headed the state-run firm Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd., as the main accused in the corruption case. The MLA is a close associate of veteran BJP leader and former CM B S Yediyurappa. His supporters held a celebration when he was granted anticipatory bail.
The whole episode, involving the arrest of the BJP MLA’s son for collecting bribes and the subsequent celebration by the MLA’s supporters, has not been received well by the central BJP leadership.
Moreover, the state unit is seen as united only when the PM or the Union Home Minister is on a visit to the state, but is otherwise ridden by factionalism, with groups loyal to CM Bommai, Yediyurappa, BJP organisation secretary B L Santhosh, and a group loyal to the party’s central leadership, pulling in different directions.
According to party sources, the move by Modi to directly address the crowds on Sunday — without reference to local BJP leaders — is an indication of his displeasure with the state of affairs in the state unit. In the event to dedicate the 118 km Bengaluru Mysuru Highway to the people, the PM only referred to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari — the state goddess — and local mutts like Adichunchungiri and Melkote, to which the Vokkaliga community in southern Karnataka owes its allegiance, before addressing “the brothers and sisters” of Mandya. In Hubbali, he paid respects to Lingayat saint Basaveshwara, before launching into an address to the “artistically and culturally enlightened” people of the region.
“Given recent events, where local leaders have been embroiled in corruption, the PM has chosen not to address the local leadership and give them credibility,” a BJP leader said.
“The BJP leadership is now aware that in the wake of the corruption allegations, mentioning the names of local leaders has a detrimental effect on the party’s fortunes. This is why a conscious effort is being made to avoid any mention of local leaders,” said Congress spokesperson Ramesh Babu.
The skipping of mention of local leaders is also seen as another sign that the central leadership is driving the campaign. Unlike in the past, when local leaders had a call in selecting candidates for state polls, this time, the central BJP is expected to call the shots in all constituencies. According to BJP insiders, several established leaders are jittery over their ticket prospects, even though veterans like Yediyurappa have opted out of the electoral race.
The BJP central leadership is expected to go by its own calculations in deciding candidates for seats. One of the signs of the BJP central leadership calling the shots ahead of the state polls is the appointment of Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje as convenor of the election management committee, said some BJP leaders.
Karandlaje, who played a key role in the UP elections, will be a key pointsman for deciding poll and campaign strategy, and will play a role that would have normally been played by state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel, according to BJP sources.Though the state election campaign committee will be headed by CM Bommai, the central leadership will here too call the shots.
