After a COVID-induced lull over the past two months, Karnataka’s familiar political chorus was back, posing a stock question. Is dissidence brewing in the ruling BJP? Setting it off was a group of party legislators meeting for lunch at the house of fellow MLA Umesh Katti. Of course, there’s been little—by way of any postprandial development—to warrant concern. But, the event did fuel speculation.
For the record, that sort of speculation isn’t new in Karnataka—back in February it was an anonymous letter railing against chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa that did the rounds briefly getting some media attention before fizzling out. Even BJP functionaries allow for a certain amount of restlessness among some party leaders given the circumstances of how the government was formed last August with the help of those who defected from rival parties—most of these newcomers won bypolls and got ministries, leaving the older members aggrieved.
Katti, an eight-time MLA from Belgaum who didn’t make it to the cabinet, has dismissed any suggestion of a rebellious plot against the CM. But he’s been pressing for a Rajya Sabha nomination for his brother, Ramesh, a former Lok Sabha member who was overlooked for a ticket in the 2019 general elections. Another voice that encouraged speculation was Bijapur City MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a maverick of sorts.
“To show that they are assertive, they can at least make a sound,” reasons one party functionary. “But that doesn’t mean there’s any instability nor that any one of them is planning to disrupt the government,” deputy chief minister C.N. Ashwathnarayan has told reporters. The Yediyurappa government will complete its remaining three years, he asserted.
The CM shrugged off questions about the episode, saying COVID-19 is his priority now.
At the core of the problem, points out political analyst A. Narayana, is that the BJP in Karnataka isn’t a coherent unit, but rather an amalgamation of many groups. That inorganic growth—by bringing in individuals and splinter groups—attracts its own set of problems, he says. “Now that the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections will be due because of retirements, it seems the immediate claim is for those positions,” the analyst says.
By Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore