The woes of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have multiplied after its miserable defeat in the Karnataka Assembly elections, as groupism and lack of cohesion in the party are coming out in the open.
Contrary to the belief that the defeat may bring its leaders together, the party is now witnessing mud-slinging as its leaders are indulging in a blame game, trying to point fingers at one another for the poll debacle.
What has caused concern is that the blame game, which is taking place in full public view, has threatened to deepen the already existing divisions within the organisation. This appears to be a continuation of the old political tussle between the pro- and anti-B.S. Yediyurappa camps.
Most of the introspection meetings that have been called by the BJP to analyse the reasons for its poll debacle have been witnessing open arguments between leaders. Senior leaders, former Ministers, MPs, and MLAs are among those trading charges and in public.
This has not only embarrassed the party but has also left top leaders worried as the State unit is yet to re-organise itself to commence preparations for the next year’s parliamentary polls.
In fact, the BJP is yet to elect its legislature party leader who will occupy the post of the Leader of the Opposition though more than one-and-a-half months have passed since the declaration of the poll results. Similarly, the party is yet to appoint a new State president though the term of its incumbent, Nalin Kumar Kateel, ended last year.
Sources in the party said that central leadership would take the initiative to ensure that a legislature party meeting is convened by July 2, the eve of the commencement of the legislature session, to set the stage for choosing the Leader of the Opposition.
The public mud-slinging has rubbed salt into the wounds of the party cadre that is already demoralised by the party’s poll debacle. Party State leaders admit that the poll defeat that has disproved the perception that the BJP central leadership is “invincible” has added to the party’s post-poll woes. “Earlier, there was a fear among the State leaders about the party high command and its invincibility. But this perception has eroded after the poll debacle. Several leaders are trying to take advantage of the situation and making efforts to assert themselves,” observed a party State leader. However, some emerging leaders feel that this churning is essential before things change and stabilise.
Interestingly, the BJP central leadership has maintained a studied silence on the entire drama unfolding in the Karnataka unit. None of the prominent central leaders has even visited Karnataka after its poll debacle, indicating that they may not have finalised any concrete plan for rebuilding the party in the State.
Office-bearers’ meeting
Meanwhile, a meeting of the party State office-bearers will be held in Bengaluru on Friday. The programmes that have to be taken up by the party organisation and the issues to be taken up by the party in the next legislature session are expected to come up for discussion, besides recent episodes of mud-slinging within the party.
Notice to Renukacharya
The BJP disciplinary committee has issued a show-cause notice to the former Minister M.P. Renukacharya asking why action should not be taken against him for publicly criticising party leaders.
Mr. Renukacharya had on Wednesday criticised the party’s decision of not giving ticket to some of its senior leaders to contest the Assembly polls and termed it as one of the reasons for the party’s debacle. He had also taken exception to replacing veteran leader B.S. Yediyurappa as Chief Minister and accused the party of trying to utilise his services for the polls without giving him what he deserved.
The letter signed by the State Disciplinary Committee, led by Lingaraj Patil, has asked Mr. Renukacharya to reply within a week.
Meanwhile, sources said that such a show-cause notice is expected to be issued to a few more leaders. Sources said the party was keen to put an end to internal tussle before the commencement of the State legislature session on July 3.
“The Budget session of the Congress government is crucial for us in terms of providing a platform for the party organisation to recover from the poll debacle ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections,” said a senior leader of the party.
