Karnataka polls: State BJP chief recuses himself from party events, speculation rife of a replacement

“State-wide Jan Sankalpa yatras and other party programmes are progressing well under other leaders. I’m undergoing medical treatment, and on the advice of doctors, won’t be able to attend any of these programmes for 10 days. I’ll return soon to serve the party and my constituency,” Kateel announced on social media on November 5.

The state BJP president, who has been facing flak within party ranks in recent months for poor turnouts at public events of the party, will be absent at a time when a senior BJP functionary close to the party’s central leadership is touring the state and meeting senior leaders. V. Satish, the BJP’s joint general secretary (organisation), began a three-day tour of Karnataka on Monday, in what is seen as an exercise by the party leadership to carry out an independent assessment of the organisation on the ground, ahead of the full-fledged preparation for the 2023 Assembly polls.

Who will lead the state BJP into the Assembly polls is going to be a pressing issue for the party in the coming months. BJP sources said Satish held backroom discussions with senior state BJP leaders and office bearers like general secretaries, to obtain a picture of the ground realities in the organisation, ahead of the 2023 polls. He will convey the report to central leaders. But the carrying out of the exercise in the absence of the state BJP president has revived suggestions that Kateel is likely to be replaced soon.

“There’s speculation about the future of the state BJP president, in light of his absence ahead of the PM’s visit,” said a BJP source, adding that Kateel was undergoing medical treatment and that no changes were afoot. “Satish’s visit is not linked to the state president’s absence,” he added.

The speculation that Kateel could be replaced as state president after his three-year tenure ended in August 2022, was floating since July 2022, along with the rumour that the BJP is considering Union minister Shobha Karandlaje as his replacement.

In recent weeks, there have been reports that some BJP rallies were not drawing crowds, especially in places like Mandya in southern Karnataka, where they were headed by Kateel.

Karnataka BJP is scheduled to identify candidates for the 2023 polls in the coming months, and there is speculation that many senior and “non-performing” MLAs will be overlooked. On Thursday, Karnataka BJP Rajya Sabha member Lahar Siroya tweeted, asking senior leaders to stand down from contesting elections to let new faces rise, citing Gujarat BJP’s decision to deny tickets to old faces and go ahead withYoung Turks for the Gujarat Assembly polls this December.

Earlier this week, former Karnataka CM and BJP parliamentary board chief B.S. Yediyurappa was heard over TV microphones telling his associate, Kalakappa Bandi—a BJP MLA from north Karnataka—that it is unlikely he will get a ticket in 2023. The tone of the former CM—who only regained importance within the BJP in August 2022, after being forced to quit as CM in July 2021—was light-hearted banter, but it only added fuel to the fire of speculations around “dead wood”.

While Yediyurappa stands resurrected, the BJP is also aware of strong negative sentiments towards Kateel, who is said to be BJP national secretary (organisation) B.L. Santhosh’s candidate. On July 27, following the murder of BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru in his home district of Dakshina Kannada, Kateel was at the receiving end of the anger of right-wing workers.

Interestingly, Kateel had succeeded Yediyurappa as the party’s Karnataka president in 2019. Yeddi, who drifted away from the party after Kateel took control, returned to the forefront only after being appointed as a member of the BJP’s highest political decision-making body—the BJP parliamentary board—on August 17.