BJP Makes Vokkaliga Warhorse Ashoka Karnataka LoP after Giving State Unit's Reins to Lingayat Leader Vijayendra

The Karnataka BJP’s wait for more than six months to select the leader of the opposition to the legislative assembly finally ended when the party’s central leadership gave the green signal to appoint Vokkaliga strongman and former deputy chief minister Ramaiah Ashoka to the post.

The seven-time legislator was a strategic choice. After appointing BY Vijayendra, belonging to the influential Lingayat community, as the state party president, Ashoka, a trusted warhorse of the party, is considered to wield significant influence among his Vokkaliga clan.

Speaking to the media after his unanimous election, Ashoka called himself and Vijayendra two leaders who have worked “like bulls” for the party.

“Both of us (Vijayendra) have grown from within the party and have been without any controversy. Our growth is based purely on our hard work. We will travel jointly across the state and bring back the BJP to power in the state. Our goal is set to win 28 out of 28 seats in next year’s Lok Sabha elections,” he told the media.

Senior BJP leaders Nirmala Sitharaman and Dushyant Kumar had been sent to attend the legislature party meeting as central observers to finalise the name after consulting with the state leaders. This decision comes in the background of reports of dissent within the party.

Ashoka is also considered to be the pick of senior BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa. “There is no dissent in the party,” BSY told the media soon after the announcement was made.

Having represented two major seats in Bengaluru—Padmanabhanagar and Uttarahalli—Ashoka was also chosen to contest against Congress Vokkaliga strongman and present deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar in the Kanakapura assembly seat in the May 2023 state polls.

There were two other probables in the race for the leader of opposition post apart from Ashoka: Dr CN Ashwath Narayan (Vokkaliga) and V Sunil Kumar (OBC). Ashoka edged his way to the post after former CM Basavaraj Bommai suggested his name for the post and was seconded by former minister Sunil Kumar.

Having worked his way up the ranks as a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Ashoka has held several key ministerial portfolios such as deputy CM, revenue, home, and transport.

The delayed decision to appoint the LoP had begun to affect the morale of the party leaders, including MLAs who had approached BSY, saying they were “too embarrassed to even attend the winter session”. which is to be held on December 4 in Belgavi.

The BJP was facing sharp criticism from the ruling Congress over the delay, months after the saffron party lost the assembly elections, netting only 66 seats.

Another Lingayat leader from the north Karnataka region, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, had also claimed to be in the race but walked out of the meeting, maintaining he was stepping out for tea, only not to return. His candidature is said to have been opposed by Yediyurappa and his supporters, according to party insiders.

Yatnal criticised the party for what he perceived as neglect of the northern Karnataka region as appointments to key positions have been from south Karnataka.

Yatnal has been vying for the positions of leader of opposition (LoP) and state president but has faced strong opposition from Yediyurappa. Yatnal in turn had expressed his pronounced dissent after BY Vijayendra was appointed as the state president last week.

“Why should only those from southern Karnataka be given the chance? How many seats do we (BJP) secure from here (southern Karnataka) apart from the Mangaluru region? How many seats do we get from Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Kolar, or Chikkaballapura? We seek regional balance. One (state president) from one side and the other (LoP) from the other side…If everyone is from here, should we stand before them and keep begging behind them,” Yatnal told reporters.

“‘Na Dainyam, Na Palayanam’: A warrior cannot complain or regret anything. His life is an endless challenge, and challenges cannot possibly be good or bad. Challenges are simply challenges,” the leader wrote on social media site X.

“There is pain for north Karnataka, and we know we won’t receive any value for our sentiments. But with the view of ensuring a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have decided to accept the decision on LoP,” said Arvind Bellad, a four-time legislator from Hubballi-Dharwad and another leader from the north Karnataka region.

The BJP is trying to strike a balance between the Vokkaliga and Lingayat vote banks to stop them from splintering, an effect the party feared after announcing its pre-poll alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular).