In the BJP’s often dismal self assessment of its dismal expansion in the southern States, the one bright spark used to be its success in Karnataka. Events in the last few months show that the party now has a Karnataka-sized problem, just less than a year before polls in the State.
Manifest reasons
The murder of Harsha Jingade, a Bajrang Dal cadre on February 20 in Shivamogga and lately the murder of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) member Praveen Nettaru in Dakshina Kannada district on July 26 has set off a flood of recriminations against the ruling BJP from within the party cadre.
The protests have prompted Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to cancel elaborate celebrations on completing one year in office scheduled to be held in Doddaballapur to be attended by BJP national president J.P. Nadda.
Angry crowds surrounded BJP state president and local MP Nalin Kateel on Wednesday when he went to visit Praveen's family. Slogans of "BJP hai hai"(down with BJP), unimaginable for the party in the Sangh stronghold of coastal Karnataka, rang out from incensed BJYM cadre. A flood of BJP IT Cell members, around 166 from Bagalkote, Chikmangalur and other districts publicly tendered their resignations, upset at what they termed was the helplessness of the BJP government in the State to tackle dangers to their own party members. "Usually, whatever happens in coastal Karnataka does not travel out of the region in terms of political impact, but this time it did," said a senior BJP leader.
The anger burst forth on Wednesday despite Central leaders like Pralhad Joshi and others putting out statements that this was an attack which pointed to the involvement of the Popular Front of India (PFI).
Cadre's grouse
The question that the cadre was asking was however different. In a State where the BJP was in power, how were such violent murders allowed to happen? When apprehended, how were the accused in the Harsha case seen making video calls from jail?
The BJP government under Mr Bommai is being termed as being not just soft in terms of controlling law and order, but the reasons attributed to it are also pointed towards the way the BJP government was formed in this term — with the help of dissidents from other parties.
In Whatsapp messages circulated within BJYM and other BJP and RSS groups, a list with names of 14 top ministers in the Karnataka government were floated, pointing out that all were either from the Congress or the Janata Dal (S). Mr. Bommai himself is not a dyed in the wool Sangh Parivar man and a part of the shade being thrown on his government from within is also because of that. His accession to the Chief Minister's chair as a replacement for Mr. Yediyurappa is being seen as more for the comfort levels of Karnataka BJP leaders sitting in Delhi, with no accountability in the State, rather than what the cadre wanted.
This is not the first such crisis to hit Mr Bommai and his government.
K.S. Eashwarappa, a former minister in Mr. Bommai's cabinet, had to quit in April this year over allegations that he may have had a role in the death by suicide of a contractor, Santhosh Patil, who wasn't paid for road works. Mr. Eashwarappa has since been given a clean chit after an inquiry but the phrase of "30% commission", alluding to the usurious rent seeking allegedly sought by ministers for awarding government contracts has stuck.
The two rays of hope for BJP in Karnataka is the fact that the Congress state unit is in a state of war between former chief minister Siddharamiah and state unit chief D.K. Shivakumar, and the overall popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For the BJP to face polls next year though, it will have to get its own house in order fast.
