Infighting within BJP may tip BAMUL election outcome in Congress' favour

Bengaluru: Divisions within the BJP that inopportunely surfaced while the elections to the Bangalore Urban, Rural and Ramanagara District Co-Operative Milk Producers’ Societies’ Union Ltd (BAMUL) were under way in Bengaluru could well tilt the scales in favour of Congress.

A dispute between the camps of BJP leaders S T Somashekhar and S R Vishwanath culminated with the former calling on his supporters to back Congress candidates in the polls.

Three of the 14 BAMUL directors having already been elected unopposed – former MP and Congress leader D K Suresh among them – elections were held for the remaining 11 positions on Sunday.

Meanwhile, it has been speculated that Suresh, younger brother of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, could well become the next Chairman of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).

Meanwhile, the confrontation between supporters of Vishwanath and Somashekhar lay bare deep-lying fault-lines within the Karnataka BJP. Accusing Somashekhar of betraying the party, Vishwanath’s supporters demanded his immediate expulsion from the party.

Although elections to co-operative bodies are not fought along party lines, they carry immense political significance, given the influence of the unions among the rural electorate, besides serving as a barometer of a leader’s political standing within the co-operative ecosystem in the state.

Suresh, meanwhile, is confident of Congress candidates securing 12 of the 14 seats on the BAMUL board. Suresh, however, refused to entertain questions on his ambitions for the KMF Chairman’s post.  

“My focus at the moment is on ensuring BAMUL is led by honest and capable individuals,” said the former MP. Training his guns on both the BJP and JD(S), he said, “While they act as though they are ‘Satya Harischandra’, these are the parties that pioneered unethical political strategies such as resort politics in Karnataka.”