Pacifying Dissidents: Immediate Challenge Before BJP

Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), probably for the first time in the electoral history of Karnataka is facing its worst-ever adverse situation, thanks to dissidence in multiple constituencies for the ensuing Lok Sabha general elections. On the face of it, the state party leaders are presenting a brave posture in public but struggling day in and day out to overcome the piquant situation thrust upon them by the party's high command.

Record number of ticket denials': Never before the party has undergone such a predicament over the denial of the party tickets for sitting MPs to contest again. Including Chitradurga, for which no candidate has been announced until this afternoon exactly half of the total 28 sitting MPs have been shown the door. As the party has grown beyond the parameters of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and evolved into one of the mainstream mass-based parties admitting everyone knocking on its doors is forced to undergo the woes hitherto restricted to the main parties.

14 left out of the fray: 

Here is the list of sitting BJP MPs being dropped for re-nomination to contest

1. Belagavi Ms Mangala Angadi.
2. North Canara Anant Kumar Hegde.
3. South Canara Nalin Kumar Kateel.
4. Bengaluru North D V Sadanand Gowda.
5. Mysuru Pratap Simha.
6. Chamarajnagar V Srinivas Prasad.
7. Tumakuru G S Basavaraj.
8. Davanagere G M Siddeshwar.
9. Chikkaballapur B M Bachegowda.
10. Kolar S Muniswamy.
11. Ballary: Devendrappa.
12. Koppal Sanganna Karadi.
13. Haveri Shivakumar Udasi.
14. Chitradurga A Narayanswamy.

Only two sitting MPs were placated: Out of the 14 sitting MPs who have been dropped only two of them have been placated by awarding tickets to their relatives. GM Siddeshwar, Davanagere MP who held the seat in the 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 general elections was denied the ticket this time. However, his wife Gayathri Mallikarjun has been declared as the party nominee. Ms Mangala Angadi, wife of deceased Union Minister Suresh Angadi and Belagavi sitting MP has been denied re-nomination. She had been trying to get the same for one of her two daughters. Jagadish Shettar, former BJP chief minister who left the party and had joined the Congress over denial of party ticket to contest from Hubballi Rural Assembly constituency, has returned. Now he would be the party candidate for Belagavi. His son has married the daughter of Ms Mangala Angadi.

Party men upset in both constituencies: Although the family members of sitting Belagavi and Davanagere MPs have managed to bag the party tickets, all is not well within the party in both these constituencies. M P Renukacharya, and S A Ravindranath, both former ministers having lost in the 2023 Assembly elections have raised a banner of revolt against the candidature of Ms Gayathri Mallikarjun. It is the same story with the Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency as well. Many local BJP leaders and ticket aspirants are soar with the selection of Jagadish Shettar to contest from Belagavi.

No better situation elsewhere: More or less the same situation prevails in Tumakuru, Shivamogga, Koppal, Bidar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru North and North Canara constituencies. J C Madhuswamy, a former minister who lost in the previous Assembly elections was in the news for opposing the candidature of V Somanna to Tumakuru. There were also talks about his crossing over to Congress to ensure a political future for his son. As of now, he has continued with the party and whether he will be helpful to the party candidate needs to be waited and seen.

K S Eshwarappa contests as an Independent: K S Eshwarappa, the former BJP DCM is contesting as an independent in Shivamogga against B Y Raghavendra, BJP candidate and elder son of party stalwart B S Yediyurappa. He is in the fray for his son Kantesh being denied the party ticket to contest from Haveri and proclaims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is his God and will support the latter after being elected! He opted out of the previous Assembly polls on the party's suggestion from refraining to contest for being 75+ and got a congratulatory call from the PM over his decision. Now, he says he is aghast with B S Yediyurappa's family control over the party. He also has the dubious background of having floated the Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Brigade outfit while being a minister, to ensure justice for the backward classes. He also held a public rally in the Bengaluru Palace grounds to spit venom against his then-chief minister B S Yediyurappa. He also had complained to the Governor that the chief minister was meddling in his Rural Development portfolio. Despite all such actions he continues to reiterate that he is a staunch pro Hindu fundamentalist. Interestingly the party which claims to be imbibed with hardcore discipline hasn't so far bothered to issue even a show cause notice for all his anti-party actions, forget suspension or expulsion from the party.

Party mood against Union Minister: Though BJP lost the 2023 Assembly elections in the state the party faired well in the border Bidar district adjoining Maharashtra and Telangana. Apart from retaining Aurad and Basavkalyan, the party snatched one seat from Congress and the JDS thereby taking the party toll from two to four among the six constituencies in the district. All four BJP MLAs had opposed the party ticket being given to Bhagavant Khuba, Union Minister and sitting Bidar MP. Prabhu Chavan, the former minister had even gone to the extent of prostrating before B Y Vijayendra, newly appointed state party President pleading refusal of ticket to the sitting MP. Yet, Bhagavant Khuba has been successful in tripping his political foes within the party. But will he be able to sail through in the given adverse situation all around is a piquant battle of sorts.

Bad mouth gets shut by the party: Anantkumar Hegde, six times MP from the North Canara constituency has been shown the doors this time. A former Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was even tipped to become the successor of B S Yediyurappa to handle the mantle of the state. Thanks to his cheap habit of biting more than what he can chew, more than becoming the state chief minister he was stripped from the central cabinet itself. He is known for being away from the constituency after getting elected and this time around for failing health. The writing on the wall was crystal clear that he could never get the ticket this time and suddenly became overactive in the constituency at the fag end of the tenure with his foul mouth. A 10-year-old photo of Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri wearing a monkey cap along with people of the minority community is doing rounds in the constituency. You don't need to become a detective to find out the people behind such a slander campaign. The campaign is about to take off and all other tantrums are awaited.

Lost Assembly seat but got LS ticket: Dr K Sudhakar, former Health and Medical Education minister lost his Chikkaballapur Assembly seat to Pradeep Eshwar, a novice in politics who has been successful enough to manage the party ticket from the district Lok Sabha constituency. He has already been received with 'Go back' sloganeering. S R Vishwanath, a realtor politician representing Yelhanka Assembly constituency has failed to get the same to his son. Sometime back he had also claimed of jumping into the fray if his son was denied the ticket.

Winning dissidents the first victory: Under these circumstances, the poll arena is not all that conducive for the saffron party in the state. Before drawing a strategy to woo the voters, perhaps the immediate challenge for the party leaders is to win the confidence of the disgruntled leaders to embark on an action plan to win the elections.

-Manohar Yadavatti