BJP won't get 10 seats if Vijayendra is removed; will go to Delhi: Renukacharya faction

Bengaluru, Feb 5 (PTI) The BJP will not win even ten seats in the assembly elections if the incumbent state chief, B Y Vijayendra, is removed, a group of supporters led by a former minister said on Wednesday and informed they have decided to meet the high command over the matter.

The group led by former minister MP Renukacharya threw its weight behind Vijayendra amid a factional rift in the BJP state unit where the rival group headed by Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has been pressing for Vijayendra's removal.

The faction, led by Renukacharya, consisting of several former ministers and legislators, including Katta Subramanya Naidu, Sampangi, Hartal Halappa, Roopali Naik, Basavaraj Dadesugur among others, is seen as supportive of Vijayendra.

"You (Yatnal faction) should be ashamed. Criticising Vijayendra and B S Yediyurappa (Vijayendra's father and veteran leader) is the same as criticising Nadda, Amit Shah, and Modi. Beware of what you say. Today, you criticise Vijayendra and Yediyurappa, and tomorrow, as a sequel to it, you will criticise Narendra Modi, Shah, and Nadda," Renukacharya said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "We held an emergency meeting today. On February 12, we will gather in large numbers, and we have also decided to go to Delhi. We will seek time from the leaders and request them to control (Yatnal and others)." Dubbing the Yatnal-led faction as "useless" and those who have "lost their mental stability," Renukacharya said they are worried because it is certain that Vijayendra will continue as the state president, and they somehow want to prevent this from happening.

"We are ashamed because of their conduct. People, including those in Congress, are questioning us about what's happening in the BJP," he said.

Vijayendra was appointed as the state BJP president in November 2023. His elevation caused 'heartburn' within the BJP, with several senior leaders repeatedly expressing their disgruntlement with his leadership and style of functioning. The Shikaripura MLA has been unable to douse the fire.

Several leaders, especially Yatnal and Jarkiholi, have been openly critical of Vijayendra, accusing him of indulging in "adjustment politics" with the ruling Congress. They have also criticised him and his father, veteran leader Yediyurappa, for trying to keep the party under their control.

Stating that Yatnal and his team are demanding a change of 23 district presidents and the state president, Renukacharya said, "They claim that their fight won't stop, but they are not fighting against Vijayendra. They are actually fighting against the BJP." Noting that the party lost in the 2023 assembly polls due to internal fighting, the former minister said, "If Vijayendra is made to step down, the BJP won't get even ten seats. National leaders know the situation; they won't remove Vijayendra, and he will continue as the president." The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats.

Alleging that the Congress has given a "supari" to Yatnal and others against the BJP, he accused them of entering into an "understanding" with the ruling party instead of fighting against it. PTI KSU SSK KH