Panel to Talk with KA BJP MLAs

Bengaluru: BJP general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh will be in Bengaluru on a three-day visit from Wednesday, in a bid to hear out all parties and put an end to differences in the state BJP unit. He will be meeting ministers on Wednesday, MLAs on Thursday and State Core Committee members on Friday, along with a series of meetings with various stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the coordination committee constituted to iron out differences between party leaders will also hold one-on-one talks with MLAs criticising party leaders in public, and causing embarrassment to the party and government. In the past few months, many BJP leaders, including Basavaraj Patil Yatnal, Aravind Bellad, AH Vishwanath, CP Yogeshwar, MP Renukacharaya and others have been making statements against their own leaders, either speaking to the media or on social media. Chief Whip and Karkala MLA V Sunil Kumar had urged party leaders to provide a platform for legislators to express their opinions and grievances.

The coordination committee headed by BJP State President Nalin Kumer Kateel includes Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, DV Sadananda Gowda, ministers KS Eshwarappa, R Ashoka, Aravind Limbavali, Jagadish Shettar, State General Secretary N Ravikumar and others.Ravikumar told TNIE, “We will either call these party leaders to our head office, Keshava Krupa, or we will go to their place and listen to their woes. We will explain our limitations and make them understand. In case they don’t agree, we will invite Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to sit with us,’’ he said.

A senior BJP leader, on condition of anonymity, said the State government is struggling with the Covid crisis as well as a financial crisis. In the coming days, the State has to face bypolls, Taluk and Zilla Panchayat elections and BBMP elections. “If we fight openly, this will impact these elections. Our leaders are trying to resolve differences. That is one of the purposes of Arun Singh’s visit,” he said.Singh has already made it clear that there is no question of leadership change and Yediyurappa will continue as CM for the next two years.