Under Yeddyurappa’s Lead, Dhananjaya Kumar to Return to BJP?

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Under Yeddyurappa’s Lead, Dhananjaya Kumar to Return to BJP?

Bengaluru: With former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa at the helm of the BJP in the state, certainly unexpected developments are likely to take place.

National president Amit Shah is said to have taken keen interest in weighing the options in choosing the right successor to Pralhad Joshi who completed his term. Many behind-the-scene exercises have reportedly been held before the decision to appoint Yeddyurapa was taken.

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Firstly, a private agency was employed to gather opinion about the right choice, getting feedback from possibly all over the state. Secondly, state governor V R Vala was also reportedly consulted in the matter.

The issue of propriety as regards a state governor – who is regarded as the Constitutional head at the state level – to involve himself in a political party’s internal issue, although he was its member earlier, is being talked about in higher circles.

Thirdly, all caste options were studied. According to the official caste survey recently conducted by the state government, the results of which have been unofficially available in the media, Dalits, numbering 1.08 crore, constitute the largest segment of 19% of the state’s population.

It is with an eye on this number that the BJP, Yeddyurappa in particular, wants to work out its strategy well ahead of the 2018 assembly elections. It is also trying its best to make inroads into the AHinDa vote-bank currently swayed over by chief minister Siddaramaiah.

As efforts are being made to unify the old Janata Parivar stalwarts into the Janata Dal camp on one side, Yeddyurappa has begun efforts to bring together influential leaders who have drifted away from the BJP into different camps.

Kundapur MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty, Basanagouda Yatnal, and Dhananjaya Kumar are heading his list. He is said to have already sent feelers to these leaders through intermediaries.

Much before it happened,Venoor Dhananjaya Kumar, speaking to a TV news channel, showered heavy praises on Yeddyurappa. It was he who had been appointed his trusted lieutenant when the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) was floated after breaking away from the BJP.

Kumar said that he had already met BSY and congratulated him in person. During the personal interaction, Yeddyurappa is said to have told him that they all should forget the past and turn over a new leaf.

Kumar told the TV channel that if BSY wished so, he would happily join the BJP again. Terming him as the popular leader and as the right person to lead the party, he stressed that under his lead, the party was sure to come back to power.

Kumar further told the channel that he was mentally still with the BJP and if given an opportunity, he would work shoulder to shoulder with the former chief minister.

Since Dhananjaya Kumar hails from the Jain community, he is expected to win over a large chunk of votes from it. In the district of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, there is a large presence of Jains in Moodbidri, Karkala, Beltangady, Venoor and other centres.

Dhananjaya Kumar was handpicked as the state’s representative in Delhi during Yeddyurappa’s time. Since he was a staunch loyalist, he was removed from the post by the then BJP government when the KJP was launched.

At this stage, there was a bitter exchange of words between Kumar and other BJP leaders, leading to a lot of bitterness.

Will that be forgotten to lead to a patch-up? Will it be acceptable to the rest of the BJP leaders in Karnataka?

These are the questions which are making rounds in the political circles right now.

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