BS Yeddyurappa clutches at straws as BJP facade cracks

Bengaluru: With just 48 hours to go for the crucial 'BJP Bachao' meeting convened by disgruntled party leaders led by K.S. Eshwarappa, a rattled party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa -someone  not known to bend before the diktats of other leaders - on Tuesday reached out to his rivals and even revoked the suspension of Eshwarapppa acolyte, Venkateshmurthy.

The suspended leader is a former Bengaluru mayor and faced the action after he shared the dais with Eshwarappa at a function of the controversial Sangolli Rayanna Brigade. It remains to be seen if this will placate the camp led by Eshwarappa, the opposition leader in the Council, as they are firm on going ahead with their April 27 meeting at Palace Grounds here. One reason could be that Yeddyurappa has shown no inclination to replace the BJP district presidents in Tumakuru, Davangere and Chamarajanagar, which was one of the major demands of the dissidents.

That the rebel camp is bustling with action is evident from the fact that they held press conferences in a few districts to invite important leaders to participate in the meeting. In all, around 1,200 people may attend, said sources, adding, "This is not a public meeting to share our joy but is intended to discuss certain issues.  We are inviting the media to highlight our grievances so that they will be considered by our national leaders", a BJP MLC told Deccan Chronicle.

A group of sitting and former legislators visited the venue to oversee preparations. It is learnt that party national president Amit Shah knows about the meeting and is expected to take "certain steps" in this regard.

State BJP spokesperson G Madhusudhan who spoke to the media, however did not attach much importance to Thursday's meeting and said: "We will sit and sort out issues at the earliest. This is not an act of dissidence, hence, the question of taking disciplinary action does not arise."    

Meanwhile, sources close to Yeddyurappa told DC that the former CM was totally 'upset' with the current developments but is yet to decide on changing the party district presidents. " Since the meeting does not have the approval of the high command or Yeddyurappa, it amounts to anti-party activity. There was delay in revoking Venkateshmurthy's suspension because of the two by-elections. The appointment of district presidents is the prerogative of the party president, something which has been underlined even by Mr Shah," the sources said.

A senior BJP leader remarked cynically that while other parties were busy preparing for the Assembly polls, the saffron party was witnessing a rebellion. In the midst of this, Mr Yeddyurappa has embarked on a study tour with a delegation of parliament members, in Hassan and Kodagu districts.