Bengaluru: The slugfest between state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa and leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa over Sangolli Rayanna Brigade could well prove a manna for ruling Congress at a time when it has been weighed down by anti-incumbency factor.
“It’s a godsend opportunity for us to expose infighting within the BJP, and we will definitely make use of this opportunity to tell people that all is not well in that party,” Rizwan Arshad, MLC, told Deccan Chronicle.
Meanwhile, sources close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said such a development was imminent in the BJP, and was brimming with confidence about returning to power in 2018. With two top leaders of BJP baying for blood, party workers are in a state of confusion.
Mr Arshad pointed out that infighting in BJP would impact the party’s prospects in Assembly polls in 2018. Top leaders of BJP had erred by declaring Mr Yeddyurappa as the CM candidate without taking other leaders into confidence. From the day Mr Yeddyurappa returned to the party, the BJP was a divided house with constant infighting among leaders.
“According to my observation, what Mr Yeddyurappa did to BJP in 2013 Assembly polls will be repeated by Mr Eshwarappa in Assembly elections to be held in the next 12-13 months. There will be a fight among leaders over distribution of tickets if Mr Yeddyurappa vests that responsibility with Ms Shobha Karandlaje,” he added.
The MLC said the ruling party would gain an upper hand as sooner than later Mr Yeddyurappa and Mr Eshwarappa would expose each other. Unlike in 2008 when the BJP was voted to power in view of a sympathy wave in favour of Mr Yeddyurappa, it would be difficult for the party to garner the support of voters across the state and win a projected 151 seats in Assembly elections in 2018, he added.
