Rumblings within Karnataka BJP grow louder as 15 MLAs meet at Katti's house

Bengaluru/ Belagavi: The dates to finalising nomination to the five vacant legislative council seats, and four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka drawing near with each passing day, rumblings are being heard within the ranks of the BJP , as several senior members have started lobbying for the party ticket. To add to the drama, reports of the state cabinet’s expansion is throwing divisions in the saffron party into stark relief.

On Thursday, as many as 15 MLAs of the BJP met at senior member Umesh Katti ’s house. The meeting, which lasted more than two hours, was attended by Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Raju Gouda, Dattatreya Patil Revur, Balachandra Jarkiholi, Shivraj Patil , Rajkumar Patil Sedam, Basavaraj Mattimadu among others.

The legislators present at the meeting dismissed suggestions of the conference having been anything other than a session to discuss plans for the development of North Karnataka, and their respective constituencies. “We met to discuss working as a group to help each develop one another’s segments,” said Raichur MLA Shivraj Patil.

However, sources in the BJP said that there was more to the meeting than what was being given out. A senior BJP MLA said that the meeting portended turmoil in the party. “Many legislators feel only a handful of the members have reaped the fruits of power. This is not entirely untrue, since there has been discrepancy in allocation of power and funds. So, they are trying to get together as a group and exert pressure. However, it is hard to tell to what extent they will be successful. Many legislators at the meeting also have their own aspirations,” he added.

That Katti, reported to have taken the lead in arranging the meeting, has been upset over denial of a cabinet berth is a rumour that has been doing the rounds for a few months. “His brother Ramesh Katti was denied the ticket to the Lok Sabha elections. Yediyurappa is keen on inducting him to the cabinet, but he has fallen out with the BJP central leadership,” said a BJP member.

Ramesh said that he, and many other members in the BJP, were upset with denial of any position. “I was promised the Rajya Sabha nomination after the party denied the Chikkodi Lok Sabha ticket to me. We want Yediyurappa to honour this promise,” said Umesh Katti’s brother.

He said that Umesh Katti had reminded the CM of the obligation recently. “Yediyurappa has reiterated his promise, but it has come to our attention that incumbent Rajya Sabha MP Prabhakar Kore, whose term will end in June, is also lobbying for the nomination. Politics is all about possibilities and anything can happen,” Ramesh added.

The member added that a remark by Katti, wherein he reportedly said that, in Chikkodi, his diktats superseded those of the BJP and even the Prime Minister’s had ruffled the feathers of the party top brass. “The Katti brothers are battling to stay politically relevant,” he added.

BSY our CM, but Modi is our leader, says Yatnal

Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has been quite vocal in expressing his displeasure over the way chief minister BS Yediyurappa has been functioning. “I am upset because the CM has not been very receptive to my pleas on requirement of developmental projects in my segment,” Yatnal said.

He said that he would express no opposition if the BJP top brass chose to replace Yediyurappa as the CM. “Yediyurappa is only the CM of Karnataka, but Narendra Modi , Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda are my leaders,” he said.