State or LS Poll: Is Karnataka BJP in a state of confusion?

BENGALURU: The state BJP leadership appears to be in a fix over what to prioritise — toppling the nine-month old JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka or strategising for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The 104 BJP MLAs, who had been called to New Delhi by the party’s national president Amit Shah for a brainstorming session for the general elections, could not meet him on Monday. However, a majority of them who had booked return tickets to Bengaluru were taken to Gurugram in Haryana instead, where they will be staying for two more days.

According to BJP sources, the party had planned to launch the Lok Sabha poll campaign from January 15 by capitalizing on Sankranti and giving party cadres a festive feel. “With three-fourth of the office-bearers not even aware of the complete picture and waiting for state party president BS Yeddyurappa to return from New Delhi with more clarity on how to proceed, poll preparations will be delayed for a few more weeks,” said a party insider.


“Shah was absent during the meeting of the BJP state leadership in New Delhi on Monday. We will now wait for fresh dates to be confirmed for Shah’s visits to Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Bengaluru and Mysuru and PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Mysuru and Bengaluru in the first leg of his national tour,” said an office-bearer.

Meanwhile, sources said the BJP has got “in touch” with 12 MLAs from the ruling coalition , but are looking to get four more to confirm their support to the 104-strong opposition. According to party sources, the key leadership within the BJP, including Yeddyurappa and his confidantes Shobha Karandlaje and Arvind Limbavali, and former CM Jagadish Shettar, have taken the lead in poaching MLAs from the ruling parties.