Bengaluru: As senior BJP leader, K.S.Eshwarappa continues to defy his party diktat and attend meetings of the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade (SRB) he has floated ostensibly to whip up backward class support for his party, state BJP chief, B.S.Yeddyurappa can do little to stop him, according to sources.
All he can do is recommend action against him to the party’s central leadership, as Mr Eshwarappa is a member of the BJP national executive and cannot be pulled up by the state unit, they explain.
Aware of this, the veteran leader has even defied the warning given by Mr Murulidhar Rao, who is in charge of the Karnataka BJP , to stay away from the SRB, which Mr Yeddurappa fears could develop into a parallel power centre in the state.
Mr Rao had gone so far as to warn him that he could invite disciplinary action if he did not toe the party line, but he appears to have made no difference as Mr. Eshwarappa went on to attend an SRB meeting in Nandagada, Belagavi district on December 6 and is preparing to organise a mega SRB event at Kudalasangama on January 26, next year.
In the meanwhile the stand-off between him and Mr Yeddyurappa has worsened their relations, with the two men now apparently not even on speaking terms.
Although they travelled on the same train and compartment to Raichur a couple of days ago, they chose to ignore each other and avoided each other while staying at the same Inspection Bungalow (IB), according to sources.
With a few national leaders from Karnataka indirectly supporting Mr Eshwarappa to counter Mr Yeddyurappa, party insiders believe that the Central leadership may find it difficult to take action against him.
