A group of Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs led by minister Balachandra Jarkiholi is reportedly trying to convince the high command in Delhi that the party does not need former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa to emerge stronger in the state as it can rely on the backing of all non-Lingayat voters and the Lingayats themselves with or without him.
Lobbying hard to retain Mr D V Sadananda Gowda as Chief Minister despite Mr Yeddyurappa's efforts to replace him, the Jarkiholi group, which is believed to have the blessings of state BJP president, K S Eshwarappa, is doing everything it can to convey that it is possible to unite all non-Lingayats in the state under his leadership, according to sources. The group also hopes to tap several regional leaders including former minister turned independent MLA, B Sreeramulu, to make its formula work in the next Assembly elections.
“Mr Jarkiholi wants to involve Sreeramulu to ensure that most seats in the Bellary and Gadag region come to the BJP. His team has told the high command that besides OBCs, SCs and STs, even the the Panchamsalis, who are a sub-caste of the Lingayats, want Mr Sadanand Gowda as Chief Minister,” say sources close to the minister. Party seniors have also been informed that heads of various mutts across the state are upset with Mr Yeddyurappa's desperation to become Chief Minister again.
“Besides swamis of the Panchamsali maths, heads of OBC, SC and ST mutts also would like to retain Mr Sadananada Gowda as CM. So the high command has been told it makes sense to focus on the large non-Lingayat voters in the state,'' sources add. The Jarkiholi group has reportedly claimed it is possible for the BJP to win many of the seats in north Karnataka that covers seven districts as the Congress lacks good leaders in these parts and that the Lingayats too are likely to back the party even without Mr Yeddyurappa as there is no other alternative as far as they are concerned.
In essence the group has emphasised that the BJP in Karnataka will not be affected if Mr Yeddyurappa is not made CM, and appealed to the party high command not to succumb to his pressure tactics and "resort politics," sources add.