Bengaluru: Ahead of the ‘do or die’ BBMP election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing an avoidable controversy. Its BBMP election in-charge and former deputy chief minister R Ashok is facing the wrath of Lingayats, the single largest caste in the state. Ashok allegedly ridiculed the Lingayats, made derogatory comments on former chief minister and the undisputed leader of Lingayats BS Yeddyurappa.
According to a BBMP ticket aspirant Rudresh, Ashok told him that Yeddyurappa was a nobody in state BJP. Speaking to the media Rudresh said, “I went to R Ashok seeking a BBMP ticket. The moment I entered his room, he made some derogatory comments on the Lingayats. When I told him that Yeddyurappa sent me to him, he got angry. He told me that Yeddyurappa had no market in Karnataka, they have already sent him to Tirupati and ticket won’t be given to Lingayats”.
According to Rudresh, he even told him that since the Lingayats have no other option, they will be forced to vote for the BJP. He claims that Ashok even insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he won’t give ticket to him even if Modi makes the request.
Rudresh has been an old associate of Yeddyurappa. He had contested against former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy in Ramanagara assembly seat in the last election. He was also the chairman of state-owned Chamundeshwari Studios in Yeddyurappa government.
R Ashok is yet to react to the allegations. When media persons tried his to contact him, it was found that his phone was switched off. Ashok is a Vokkaliga leader of the BJP from Bengaluru city. He won his first election in 1998. He was a Cabinet minister in the BJP government between 2008-2013. For a brief period he was also a deputy chief minister. He is considered close to Union minister Ananth Kumar.
Enraged over the comments, powerful Lingayat leaders of the BJP held an emergency meeting in Bengaluru on Monday night. The meeting went on till late night. According to some insiders, the Lingayats, who are the backbone of the BJP have decided to protest against Ashok.
Lingayats are over 20% of Karnataka’s population and they have greater influence over state’s socio, political and economic life of the state. Yeddyurappa who singlehandedly built and brought the BJP to power in Karnataka quit that party in late 2012 to form his own Karnataka Janata Party (KJP). Ahead of Lok Sabha elections in 2014, he returned to the BJP. He won Lok Sabha election from Shimoga and was made a national vice president of the BJP.
Yeddyurappa declined to comment on the developments saying that he is in New Delhi to attend Parliament session.
Comments
0 comment