Amid poaching threat, Yediyurappa steps in to douse BJP's disgruntlement fire

Spooked by the threat of Congress poaching some “disgruntled” BJP lawmakers, saffron party veteran B S Yediyurappa entered the fray Friday and huddled with senior leaders to keep the flock together.

After a two-hour-long meeting at his residence, Yediyurappa expressed confidence that no MLA would quit the BJP even as he conceded that a few are thinking of leaving.

"Nobody is leaving the party. There are a couple of them who're thinking about (leaving) for various reasons. We're talking to them. I'm confident nobody will leave," Yediyurappa told reporters.

Former chief ministers Basavaraj Bommai and DV Sadananda Gowda, senior lawmaker R Ashoka and BJP MLAs, including those rumoured to leave, attended the meeting held under Yediyurappa's leadership.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, hinted earlier this week that his party is likely to lure or poach back BJP and JD(S) lawmakers, including those who defected during the 2019 political crisis.

The BJP is specifically concerned about MLAs such as ST Somashekar, BA Basavaraja (Byrathi), K Gopalaiah, Munirathna and Shivaram Hebbar. They were among 17 lawmakers who defected and helped the BJP come to power in 2019.

Friday's meeting showed how criticial Yediyurappa is for the BJP. Sixteen of the 17 defectors joined the BJP trusting Yediyurappa, who is arguably the BJP's tallest leader in Karnataka.

Somashekar, earlier with Congress, has publicly said that he is unhappy with local BJP leaders in his Yeshwanthpur constituency. Earlier in the day, he met Bommai and held talks. But he skipped the meeting in Yediyurappa's residence. Even Basavaraja did not show up.

"We're talking to Somashekar, Hebbar and Gopalaiah. We're in constant touch with Munirathna. Nobody will leave the party. They've said this clearly and I'm reiterating," Bommai said. "All local problems have been brought to the notice of the party president (Nalin Kumar Kateel) and they'll be resolved soon. Everybody is united."

Bommai blamed Congress for the speculation about BJP MLAs. "This is to divert attention from corruption allegations, nepotism and their own MLAs being up in arms," he said.

The BJP also made it a point to have Gopalaiah and Munirathna issue statements before news cameras. "It's said that I met CM (Siddaramaiah). If that's true, I'll hang myself in public. I'll remain with BJP," Gopalaiah said. Munirathna, too, asserted that he's not leaving BJP. "And, Basavaraja has asked me to convey that he's not leaving either," he said.

Ashoka said Somashekar and Basavaraja had informed him about their inability to attend Friday's meeting. "Don't worry. I'll bring them both before you (media) in a few days," he said.