BS Yeddyurappa's wings clipped, Santhosh takes charge of Karnataka BJP
Bengaluru: The BJP’s state president B.S.Yeddyurappa may be its Chief Ministerial candidate, but he seems to be losing out to party national joint secretary, Santhosh in organisational matters with the latter having been entrusted with the job of strengthening the party from the grassroots upwards in the run-up to the coming assembly polls.
BJP national president Amit Shah, who held a core committee meeting of the Karnataka unit of the party in Delhi on Saturday, reportedly instructed all state leaders, including Mr. Yeddyurappa to coordinate and cooperate with Mr. Santhosh to strengthen the party organisation and prepare an action plan to fight the Siddaramaiah government in the state.
His orders could be a bitter pill to swallow for Mr Yeddyurappa as he had sidelined Mr. Santhosh from the party organisation and even publicly criticised him for “interfering” in its affairs.
Going by a senior leader in the state BJP, who was present at the Delhi meeting, Mr Shah has given Mr. Santhosh absolute freedom to build the party organisation, prepare election strategies and draw an action plan to take on the Congress in the state.
Further clipping his wings, Mr. Yeddyurappa has been told to take all core committee leaders into confidence before taking any decisions, according to him. The decision has reportedly improved the mood in the party, which has been in a state of unrest owing to Mr Yeddyurappa’s alleged dictatorial ways.
Mr Shah also suggested organising a mega “Parivarthana” rally against the ruling Congress in the state and holding of agitations against it in each Assembly constituencies on local issues.
Pointing out that the Uttar Pradesh elections were won by effective management of booth committees, he advised the Karnataka leaders to constitute booth committees of nine members each representing all castes in all Assembly constituencies, sources revealed.
As a first step, BJP leaders, who arrived from Delhi in Bengaluru on Saturday, decided to meet district core committee and election committees members at the party office from August 28 to September 3 to sort out organisational problems, they added.
