Disgruntled MLA Basanagouda Patil slams Vijayendra over 'mismanaged' BJP polls

Bengaluru, Jan 31 (PTI) BJP leader Basanagouda Patil on Friday launched a fresh salvo at party's Karnataka unit chief B Y Vijayendra, alleging that the internal elections within the party were not being conducted in an organised manner.

Patil accused Vijayendra of only sending the names of candidates to the central leadership who would support his bid for power.

"The elections are not taking place in an organised manner. Instead, it is being conducted with a sole purpose that he should become the party state president,” he said, during a press meet, flanked by former MLA Kumar Bangarappa and G M Siddeshwar.

The Vijayapura BJP MLA also claimed that his suspicion about Vijayendra appointing his loyalists at the district level had proven to be true.

“A lot of confusion has taken place in the elections for district presidents. Many seniors who were neutral now have started writing letters to the party national president J P Nadda over the way district presidents are getting elected.” According to Patil, senior party leaders have raised concerns with Nadda, claiming that the elections were conducted in violation of the party's constitution, with the sole aim of re-electing Vijayendra as the BJP state president.

The rift within the ‘party with a difference’ has been growing, as leaders trade accusations publicly.

Meawnhile, BJP MP K Sudhakar trained his guns at Vijayendra, alleging that there is a concerted effort within the state unit to surround itself only with sycophants.

“He (Vijayendra) wants people who say ‘yes boss’ and ‘Ji Huzur’ kind of people. His way of functioning, his ego…. He may have thousands of crores of rupees, which I don’t know,” the former Minister said in a press conference.

He urged the central leadership to "either change his behavior or remove him." “He (Vijayendra) does not want any senior leader. He is out to dig grave of everyone, be it MP and former CM Basavaraj Bommai in Haveri, former minister C T Ravi in Chikkaballapura or Yatnal in Vijayapura,” Sudhakar said.

“My tolerance limit is over and it’s time for war.” The MP charged Vijayendra with trying to "finish his political career".

Earlier, former CM D V Sadananda Gowda had questioned Vijayendra’s leadership quality, saying he has "failed" to contain dissidence in the party.

Yatnal, a staunch critic of Vijayendra and his father and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, alleged that Yediyurappa’s family has hijacked the BJP state unit.

He appealed to the BJP national leadership to tackle the "dynastic politics" within the party's Karnataka unit in order to effectively counter the Congress party's own "dynastic politics".

Vijayendra rejected the allegations of misconduct in the BJP district unit elections, saying that he has been attempting to bring everyone together, but admitted that he was unable to resolve some issues.

“But I am confident that in the coming days things would improve,” he said in Kalaburagi on Friday.

Responding to the allegations of wrongdoings in the election, he said, “I would like to tell all the seniors that I neither gave my opinion anywhere in the district, nor will give such chance to do that.” The BJP state chief stated that the entire election process was conducted under the close supervision of the central leadership, which had appointed 13 observers across the state. PTI GMS GMS ROH