Basanagouda Patil Yatnal
Credit: Special Arrangement
New Delhi: In a stern warning to the warring factions in its Karnataka unit, the BJP on Wednesday expelled rebel MLA and former Union minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal from the primary membership of the party for six years, indicating that the party will not brook defiance to decisions taken by the high command.
Yatnal has been quite vocal against former chief minister B S Yediyurappa and his son and the BJP state president, B Y Vijayendra, alleging they were in adjustment with the Congress and amassed huge wealth.
"The Central Disciplinary Committee of the party has considered your response to the show cause notice dated February 10, 2025, and has taken a serious note of your repeated violations of the party discipline, despite your assurances of good behavior and conduct in response to earlier show cause notices," the order signed by CDC member Om Pathak said.
"It has accordingly been decided to expel you for a period of six years with immediate effect from the primary membership of the party and you stand removed from any party position that you may hold until now," it added.
The Bijapur City MLA has vowed to continue his fight against "corruption and family politics". "The party has rewarded me for 'Calling a Spade, a Spade'," Yatal posted on X
"Certain vested interests have played their part in furthering their agenda successfully. The decision to suspend me will not deter my fight against corruption, family politics, development of North Karnataka & Hindutva. I will continue to serve my people with the same vigour & tenacity (sic)," Yatnal said.
Meanwhile, Vijayendra called party workers not to celebrate the expulsion of Yatnal. "After thorough deliberation on recent developments within the party, a disciplinary action against Yatnal has been taken, though it was an unfortunate necessity,” he said.
The BJP high command had served show cause notices to Yatnal on two occasions and warned him against airing his views on party affairs publicly. "Since the party central leadership is under intense pressure from the state leaders to put an end to infighting, the party decided to take tough action against him," a senior leader said, adding that the expulsion may be revoked ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
By expelling the rebel MLA, the high command seems to have sent a strong message to leaders that it won't tolerate anybody going public on the party's internal affairs.
"Whatever may be Yatnal's view about the Yediyurappa family, since the party central leadership appointed Vijayendra as the state unit chief, all should accept the decision. If anybody is attacking the state unit chief publicly, it means such leaders are attacking the decision of the party high command. There is a limit for patience also. When a person crosses the 'Laxman Rekha', the party has to act," said the senior leader.
Besides attacking the Vijayendra camp, Yatnal had started mobilising supporters while taking out a march against the Waqf notices to farmers without taking the state party leadership into confidence.
He also tried to bring together Lingayat leaders, seers and people, which was seen by the state BJP leadership as his attempt to emerge as the 'Lingayat strongman', a position often attributed to Yediyurappa.
Incidentally, Vijayendra, his brother Shivamogga BJP MP B Y Raghvendra and their family members met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah here on Tuesday to extend an invitation to Raghavendra's son's marriage. Yatnal was also in the national capital for the past two days to meet state BJP MPs to extend an invitation to inauguration of his sugar factory in Bidar.
As the news of Yatnal's expulsion trickled in, a large number of BJP and Hindutva workers took to the social media and hailed him saying that just to protect one family, the party "sacrificed" a Hindutva leader.
On Tuesday, the BJP high command had issued notices to five leaders, including Vijyendra confidants former MLAs M P Renukacharya and Katta Subramanya Naidu, for anti-party activities. Renukacharya and Naidu have been attacking Yatnal. The party is likely to take action against these leaders also if their reply is not satisfactory.
As the central leadership understands that Yatnal has a strong base and is an influential Panchamashali sect leader, his expulsion may not be permanent. Since the Assembly election is three years away, the party can revoke his expulsion, said the senior leader. However, he said that Yatnal's expulsion does not mean that Vijayendra will continue as the state unit chief. Suspension of Yatnal and continuation of Vijayendra as the state unit chief are two separate issues, said the leader.
Prior to his expulsion, Yatnal had told the media here that he would not accept Vijayendra as the state president and his fight against Yediyurappa's son would continue.
In his X post following the expulsion, Yatnal quoted a Kannada poem written by the 15-16th century poet Purandara Dasa, which says, "This is not the time for the truthful. This is the time for the wicked to prosper."