The saying that victory has many fathers, but defeat is an orphan holds good for the Karnataka unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the miserable defeat in the recently-held Assembly polls has deepened the existing divide in the party, bringing to fore the lack of cohesiveness in the party organisation.
Such is the nature of complication within the party that it is yet to choose a Leader of the Opposition, though nearly two months have passed since the poll results were announced.
Lack of cohesiveness and groupism has been the fundamental bane of the BJP unit in Karnataka. However, the powerful central leadership had managed to ensure that it did not come out in the open. But after the ‘invincible’ image of the BJP central leadership was shattered by the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections, groupism has again taken centrestage in the party. This was visible with several leaders, including MLAs and MPs, publicly blaming one another for the party’s defeat.
Embarrassed, the party leadership identified 11 leaders engaged in mud-slinging and entrusted party veteran leader B. S. Yediyurappa with the task of making them fall in line.
Though mud-slinging in public seems somewhat contained for now, the fact that the divisions in the party are getting deepened by the poll debacle are visible in the inordinate delay in choosing its legislature party leader who would go on to become leader of the opposition.
The party is facing embarrassment as the budget session of the State legislature is being held without a Leader of the Opposition. The State budget was presented without Leader of the Opposition in place.
The BJP high command had deputed two Central observers, who elicited the views of the party senior leaders, MLAs and MPs on the choice of candidates for Leader of the Opposition. But though the process was completed about a week ago, the name of the Leader of the Opposition was yet to be announced till Monday evening.
It is not just the Leader of the Opposition’s post that is vacant, but the party is also yet to appoint new president for the State unit. The term of the incumbent Nalin Kumar Kateel ended in August 2022. However, the party had then decided to continue with him till the Assembly elections in May 2023.
Party leaders attribute the delay in appointment for both the posts on the jugglery of caste and community combinations, as the party is trying to accommodate the two dominant communities – Lingayat and Vokkaligas.
Interestingly, the party central leadership skipped the appointment of Its Karnataka State unit president when it appointed new chiefs for four States a few days ago.
The caste permutations apart, the party central leadership is believed to be caught between the immediate necessity of taking all the leaders along for the forthcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the need for building a strong leadership as well as organisation for the future.
Though the party central leadership hinted at building a new leadership when it replaced the ageing and politically influential B. S. Yediyurappa with Basavaraj Bommai as chief minister two years ago, it had to depend heavily on Mr. Yediyurappa, who has substantial influence in the dominant Lingayat community, for the poll campaign in the Lingayat-dominant areas. It had to face the wrath of Lingayat community as replacing Mr. Yediyurappa as chief minister was seen as insulting a Lingayat leader though his replacement too was from the same community.
Though the party central leadership wants to build an alternative leadership in the long-term interest of its organisation, the pressure of the fast-approaching Lok Sabha polls have raised doubts on whether the party would dare take up such an experiment now with respect to both the key posts.
Also, the experiment in the May 2023 Assembly polls, when the BJP went to polls without a strong State leader, has showed that it is important to have a strong leadership in the State to reach out to people.
Whatever may be the political reasons for the delay in appointment of Leader of Opposition, the episode has caused embarrassment to the party State unit, and further affected its morale, which was already low following the poll debacle.
