Less than a month ahead of the assembly elections in Karnataka scheduled on May 10, the state unit of the BJP is vertically split between the loyalists and turncoats and between believers and nonbelievers of Hindutva. While the turncoats through their patrons at Delhi have been striving hard to side-line the loyalists, the nonbelievers in the RSS political line of Hindutva are raising their accusing fingers at the hardliners for deepening the communal schism just ahead of the polls. They even argue that some of the possible contestants enjoying the patronage of the believers were simply alienating the common people away from the BJP.
Yet another issue which has forced the B JP to come on its knees is the eruption of nasty controversy surrounding entrance of the Amul in Karnataka. It plans to introduce its milk and dahi in the state. The Kanndigas are opposed to the word dahi. Instead they prefer curd in place of Dahi.
Local people feel that replacing Karnataka’s own Nandini by Amul is a part of the design of the Gujarat BJP leaders to weaken the state milk federation. They recall that in August last year cooperation minister Amit Shah had visited to a KMF dairy in Bengaluru. His visit has given rise to suspicion amongst the people that it was aimed at merging the Nandini brand with Amul. Meanwhile the controversy has garnered attention far beyond Karnataka. .
It is being argued that the Modi government instead of allowing the Amul to enter into Karnataka should have taken more measures to strengthen Nandini. The move taking place just ahead of election has raised many eye brows and question is being asked; “Why should state level cooperative milk bodies be forced into competition? “It has turned into an issue of Kannada identity.
In fact the senior Congress leader Siddharamaiah had sought to know from Modi “Is your purpose of coming to Karnataka is to give to Karnataka or to loot from Karnataka? You have already stolen banks, ports & airports from Kannadigas. Are you now trying to steal Nandini (KMF) from us?” There are few takers for the clarification offered by the state’s cooperation minister; “Everybody knows that milk products get affected in summer. The KMF is more than capable of facing the competition from whoever”. It is argued that how could Amul stop its supplies during other seasons?
The controversy underlines the significance of ‘politics around milk’ where 16 unions spread across 22,000 villages with 24 lakh members give the sector a powerful voice that is coveted by parties to establish a grassroots presence. The KMF is India’s second-largest dairy cooperative that owns the Nandini brand. So far the JD(S) and Congress leaders have been occupying the chair of the KMF. Modi and Shah believe that the KMF has the primary factor behind strong hold of the Congress in rural Karnataka. Some Kannada organisations have hit the streets against this move and condemned the ‘conspiracy’ of the Union government to merge the state-run cooperative with the Gujarat-based Amul.
Amul’s proposal has caused a row in poll-bound Karnataka as Opposition parties such as the Congress and JD(S) have attacked the BJP for attempting to ‘finish off’ the state’s companies and banks. The BJP has dismissed Opposition claims, saying the allegations were unfounded and that there was no proposal to merge the two milk unions. But the common people are reluctant to subscribe to the BJP’s clarification. Their suspicion primarily owes to Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that Modi was patronising and promoting Adani, a Gujarati businessman.
While Nandini is sold at Rs 39 per litre packet, the Amul milk will cost Rs 54 per litre. This abnormal rise in price has been causing much consternation. As if the milk issue was not enough to disturb the electoral calculation of Karnataka, the issue of cayenne pepper has cropped up. A huge amount of 20 thousand quintal has been dumped in the Karnataka market. The way the Gujarat business lobby has been become quite proactive in Karnataka, it would have adverse impact on the rural producers, the farmers. Out of 224 assembly constituencies 154 are rural segments. This inter play of milk and pepper would certainly have its impact on the electoral prospect of the BJP.
Even while the BJP leadership is preoccupied with the milk issue, the senior leader KS Eshwarappa has given a given a jolt to the party by announcing his decision to quilt electoral politics just four weeks ahead of the assembly elections. Though the senior BJP leaders hold that he has come out with this announcement at the direction of Amit Shah to protect the party from the embarrassment of being identified as a corrupt outfit, the people seek to know why he was not punished just after it got exposed that he was involved neckdeep in corruption.
A rumour is making round the political circle that it was the possible threat to ensure the defeat of some candidates that forced the leadership to act. He has announced his decision, but the state leaders are not sure that whether it would be accepted by the party high command. His absence from the electoral scene would harm the party more than levelling of charges of corruption against him. It is being apprehended some more senior party leaders may quit electoral politics.
B.S. Yediyurappa, the Lingayat strongman and former Karnataka CM, unwilling to undertake effective campaigning has unnerved the leaders. He is the only mass leader and BJP’s biggest strength His close aides the party high command ignoring has not gone down well with the state cadres and leaders. A section of the state BJP are against nominating his son Vijayendra from the constituency suggested by him. Astonishingly Modi and Shah have been according preferential treatment to his detractors who borrow their strength from the leaders who came from other parties.
Modi and Shah are aware of the counterproductive impact of any action against Yediyurappa. This would turn the Lingayats hostile. They were responsible for the BJP’s low score in 2013, during a short rebellion by Yediyurappa, when he formed another party. Unfortunately for Modi and Shah the factional war has escalated in state after the release of the list of 189 candidates by the high command on Tuesday.
With the rift between Yediyurappa and his nominee, CM Basavaraj Bommai, widening, Eshwarappa, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Janardhana Reddy, and Sriramulu have intensified their rebellious activities. They are getting the support of the turncoats. The party high command is scared of the moves of Yediyurappa. They are sceptical of his followers extending support to the opposition candidates. The liquor baron Jarkiholi, was poached from the Congress through “Operation Lotus”. However he was made to resign from the Cabinet on the allegation of rape. It is also rumoured that Jarkiholi is likely to join JD(S.)
All these developments have made the election ground in Karnataka very slippery for the BJP. Chief Minister B Bommai is still being attacked for his failure in dealing with corruption, the civil society activists are upset at the recent behaviour of the Sangh Parivar fringe groups and now the latest is the Kannada sub nationalism over the sudden entry of Amul challenging Karnataka’s own Nandini. It is not a Herculean task for the state BJP to retain its power in May10 polls. (IPA Service)
The post Factional Battles Intensify In Karnataka BJP After The List Of 189 Is Out first appeared on IPA Newspack.
