JOIN USBJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday appointed former minister V Srinivas Prasad as vice president of the state unit. Prasad is a recent entrant into the party from the Congress.
Yeddyurappa also appointed M Nagaraj, former Congress corporator of Bengaluru, a special invitee to the BJP’s state executive committee. The three-time corporator joined the BJP about six months ago, accusing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of sidelining him after he served the party for three decades.
The appointments come at a time when Yeddyurappa is being criticised by rivals, including senior leader K S Eshwarappa, for taking unilateral decisions on appointments.
The move is seen as an assertion by Yeddyurappa that he has full powers to choose his team of office-bearers. Party observers contend that it is also a message that those close to Yeddyurappa will be rewarded, besides being a move to consolidate Dalit votes as Prasad belongs to the scheduled caste.
Nagaraj is a Kuruba. Prasad had joined the BJP after he was dropped from the Siddaramaiah Cabinet in June last year.
He had contested unsuccessfully on a BJP ticket from Nanjangud in the bypolls, losing to Kalale N Keshavamurthy of the Congress by a margin of 21,334 votes. According to party sources, the BJP constitution allows state presidents to select their team of office-bearers, except General Secretary (Organisation).