Amid an eventful two days for the Congress in Karnataka after Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah’s car was attacked with eggs in Kodagu on Thursday, the grand old party went a step ahead and alleged that the chief minister’s post in the state was “for sale”.
Leader of opposition in the Karnataka legislative council, BK Hariprasad reportedly alleged that the CM’s post was a “very costly affair”. He accused a senior BJP leader of quoting a price of Rs 2,500 crore for the post of chief minister of Karnataka, according to a report published by NDTV.
“There are too many aspirants for the CM’s post and there is big money involved. According to a BJP senior leader, one should cough up Rs 2,500 crore,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Hariprasad’s allegations come amid speculation that CM Basavaraj Bommai may be replaced by the BJP high command ahead of the 2023 assembly elections. Though union home minister Amit Shah had earlier said the saffron party will go into the assembly polls under Bommai’s leadership, there seems to be no unanimity within the party on the matter. Several state leaders, including former CM BS Yediyurappa, have repeatedly spoken about collective leadership.
Yediyurappa’s appointment to the Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee further fuelled rumours that the BJP is planning to show the door to Bommai. Yediyurappa’s new appointment makes the Lingayat strongman a part of the committee that gives poll tickets.
In a latest development, which is being seen as a “snub”, events planned for the celebration of Bommai’s one year as CM have yet again been postponed from its scheduled date of August 28. The celebration, named ‘Janotsav’ or the ‘celebration of people’, was first fixed to be held on July 28.
The ruling BJP government has explained this by saying August 28 was on the threshold of Gowri and Ganesh festival celebrations, and the party workers will not be able to fully take part in organising as well as celebrating the event.
Dispelling the rumours, BJP national secretary Arun Singh said Karnataka will go into next year’s polls under Bommai’s leadership, and that there was “no question” of removing him. “There is no question of removing Bommai. Our leadership has placed complete confidence in him. He will surely complete his term,” Singh was quoted as saying.
As for the cancellation of Janotsav, party sources said the state BJP unit was looking at grand celebrations that will also include Yediyurappa’s new appointment. The party also wants to send a message to the people like the Congress managed with the mega celebration of Siddaramaiah’s 75th birth anniversary.
The first time, it was Bommai who had cancelled the Janotsav celebrations just a day before they were scheduled to take place in the backdrop of the murder of BJP Yuva Morcha activist Praveen Kumar Nettare in Dakshina Kannada district. The CM had said his “conscience is not allowing” him to celebrate the event after seeing the plight of Praveen’s family, his wife and mother.
It has become a routine exercise for the Karnataka BJP to dismiss rumours surrounding leadership change by the high command. The situation with Bommai has followed the same pattern before Yediyurappa was asked to step down. According to the NDTV report, the BJP wants to balance the Lingayat-Vokkaliga vote bank by having Yediyurappa in the mix.
The Lingayats form 18 per cent of Karnataka’s population, while the Vokkaligas comprise 15 per cent.
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