Karnataka: Vokkaligas in BJP scramble to be face of the community

BENGALURU: The performance of BJP in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, where its seat tally fell to 17 from 25 despite the support of JD(S), has led to familiar internal rivalries resurfacing, especially concerning Vokkaliga leadership within the saffron party.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra is already facing rebellion from factions opposing his father and party veteran BS Yediyurappa.The issue of establishing Vokkaliga leadership has compounded his problems.
The inclusion of JD(S) in NDA has meant Union minister HD Kumaraswamy is now the “unofficial” Vokkaliga face of both parties. It has accentuated the need for BJP to solidify its own Vokkaliga leadership ahead of upcoming zilla and taluk panchayat elections, besides polls to BBMP council.
Internal squabbling was evident on Sunday when prominent Vokkaliga functionaries in BJP — opposition leader R Ashoka and former deputy chief minister CN Ashwath Narayan — addressed reporters in Bengaluru separately on the issue of fuel price hike. Meanwhile, CT Ravi held an independent protest in Chikkamagaluru despite the party announcing a statewide agitation.
Sources say Ashoka and Vijayendra are seen as a “packaged deal” which has deepened dissatisfaction among those who want them removed. “However, since the two were anointed by the central brass, there is nothing anyone can do but work with them,” said a functionary, acknowledging the entrenched positions of Ashoka and Vijayendra.
Narayan, meanwhile, scoffed at suggestions that BJP members were pulling in different directions. “BJP is more united than it was before the Lok Sabha polls. We are more united against Congress’s misrule than before,” Narayan said.
But speculation is rife that the party’s central brass is reportedly contemplating a change to strengthen BJP’s presence in the Lower House. If Ashoka is removed, Vokkaliga community could be compensated by appointing Ravi as the opposition leader in the Upper House, since incumbent Kota Srinivas Poojari has been elected MP.
There are also murmurs that the replacement might emerge from the OBC community, with V Sunil Kumar, the Karkala MLA, being touted as a potential candidate. But this scenario presents a challenge. As one legislator put it, “If this happens, then both state president and opposition leader will have to be replaced, which in the current circumstances is a long shot.”