A change of guard in Karnataka was in the offing. The saffron party’s fortunes were taking a nosedive in the state even as it remained the only BJP stronghold in the South. Chief Minister Yediyurappa had become increasingly unpopular and the BJP’s ‘Modi aura’ was on the wane there. The only option for the BJP was to let Yediyurappa go and swear in Basavaraj Bommai in his place if it is to retain its base. Clearly, the party’s chances of winning the next assembly polls in 2023, which will be followed by the Lok Sabha polls the next year, looked remote. Every other southern state has regional satraps holding charge and a saffron penetration is difficult in what is essentially the Dravidian belt. Good sense prevailed on the BJP to change the CM in Karnataka. Yediyurappa had four (incomplete) terms as chief minister and remains a highly controversial figure. What weighed in his favour was the support he got from the Lingayat community that forms some 17 per cent of the state’s population. It has an all-encompassing character distinctive from the caste-centric Hindus and yet remains part of the majority religion. The single-minded concentration of the BJP on the Lingayats continued to alienate it from other segments of the population. The BCs took refuge in the JD-S outfit of Deve Gowda while the SCs and minorities sided with the Congress. It was due to the anti-incumbency sentiment that the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the last assembly polls but it still could not gain power. It manipulated a majority later by defections from other parties.
While Yediyurappa was brought back as CM two years ago, the result was a further erosion in the base of the BJP. He relied more on his sons to run the government and broker deals, which irritated sections within the BJP too. By his actions, Yediyurappa dug his own grave. His current attempt is reportedly to get one of his sons a top party or governmental position and a governor post for himself. If the BJP’s Lingayat leanings have seen the Party’s stock fall it is curious as to why it chose to swear in another Lingayat – Basavaraj Bommai. But irrespective of who the BJP picks for the CM’s post, it is unlikely to pick up speed in Karnataka. While results of future elections depend on the ground situations, chances are that the BJP’s chances are receding in Karnakata. When corruption and nepotism marry it becomes a lethal combination. Question is, how did the BJP allow Yediyurappa to run riot for so long. It demonstrated the lack of strength of the party at its apex.
