Karnataka polls: Amit Shah asks leaders to desist from naming election candidates

Yeddyurappa, who embarked on a 75-day Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivartana Yatra across the 224 constituencies in the state, has at several public meetings declared names of close associates — especially those who stuck with him when he left the BJP to float his Karnataka Janata Party in 2013 — as candidates.

The move has not gone down well with rival factions in the BJP who sought intervention of the national leadership. During meetings with state BJP leaders in Bengaluru last week, Shah stated that state leaders must desist from announcing candidates since the final decision will be taken and announced by the party leadership after due process, sources said.

There are fears in the BJP that Yeddyurappa’s move could result in dissent in the ranks of party cadre and damage its prospects in some constituencies. RSS is reported to have recently warned the BJP’s national leadership of the possibility of friction within the party, derailing its efforts to return to power in Karnataka.

Shah’s intervention was needed last year to address a feud between Yeddyurappa and prominent backward class leader K S Eshwarappa. Eshwarappa, a former deputy CM, is reported to be among the leaders aggrieved by the state party president’s move.

Yeddyurappa has, in recent times, blamed former RSS leader and BJP national joint general secretary B L Santhosh for fomenting dissent against him through Eshwarappa. The BJP national leadership’s announcement of Yeddyurappa as the party’s CM candidate for the 2018 polls has reportedly caused heartburn among other leaders.
Thereafter, following complaints of excessive promotion in party affairs of Lok Sabha MP, state BJP general secretary and Yeddyurappa aide Shobha Karandlaje, the BJP has attempted to ensure that other senior state leaders also share the spotlight in run up to the polls.

Despite being declared the chief candidate, Yeddyurappa, 74, is also said to be nervous over the promotion of younger leaders like Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde, 49, and Lok Sabha MP from Mysuru region Prathap Simha, 41.