In BJP, advantage again for Yediyurappa

A full six months after the Karnataka assembly election results were announced, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally appointed a new state unit president and a leader of the opposition (LoP).

While both appointments have led to discord in the party, the stamp of former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who the high command had sought to sideline not long ago, is writ large. While state president B Y Vijayendra is Yediyurappa’s son, the newly anointed LoP R Ashoka, a Vokkaliga, is a loyalist of the former chief minister.

Having been forced to resign as chief minister in 2021, the Lingayat strongman, who for some time found himself lost in the woods, is now back in the reckoning. This also signals the failure of the BJP, especially its National General Secretary (Organisation), B L Santosh, to build a strong second line of leadership.

While the once belligerent Santosh camp is now left licking its wounds, the new appointments have not gone down well with many who openly point out that the party has been reduced to a fiefdom of the Yediyurappa family. BJP Karnataka had gone comatose after it suffered a humiliating defeat in the May elections, winning only 66 of the 224 Assembly seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made multiple visits to the state and held numerous roadshows on the eve of the elections, but the famed ‘Modi magic’ failed to cut any ice with the voters, who gave the Congress a resounding victory. This had incurred the wrath of the central leaders. While outgoing state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel failed to inspire the cadres, especially in the face of the defeat, the BJP’s inability to appoint an LoP, a Constitutional post, exposed it to ridicule. For instance, the entire budget session was held without an LoP in place. While it remains to be seen if the BJP will be able to douse the dissent, both Vijayendra and Ashoka have a huge role cut out for them in rebuilding the state unit, especially with the Lok Sabha elections looming on the horizon. The BJP’s decisions, though belated, are much needed as the role of the opposition as a watchdog cannot be understated in a democracy. Only a strong opposition can hold the government to account and thereby bring out the best in it.