Past has been tense for BJP’s splinters; will the future be perfect for Yatnal?

Expelled leader faces geographical limitations & ideological isolation

Bengaluru: With expelled BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal hinting at floating his own party, questions about the political feasibility of rebel factions and smaller parties and their electoral impact on the state’s political landscape have resurfaced.

If Yatnal - the Bijapur city MLA - floats his own outfit, he will join a list of leaders who went their own way after parting ways with the saffron party.

Ironically, the most significant of the BJP splinter factions in the state was the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) helmed by former chief minister B S Yediyurappa - Yatnal’s bete noire.

The other rebel parties include the Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress (BSR Congress) by BJP’s pre-eminent ST leader B Sriramulu and the recent Karnataka Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP) by Gali Janardhana Reddy.

KJP

In late 2012, Yediyurappa resigned from the BJP’s primary membership and relinquished his MLA post. With several fellow Lingayat leaders leaving the BJP and following him, he soon floated the KJP.

Though the KJP was relegated to a distant fourth behind Congress, JD(S) and BJP in the 2013 elections, it significantly dented the BJP’s prospects in northern and central Karnataka with six seats and a 9.79% vote share.

Having reasserted his dominance as the preeminent Lingayat leader in the state, Yediyurappa returned to the saffron fold in 2013.

BSR Congress

Formed in 2011, Sriramulu’s BSR Congress contested from 150 seats in the 2013 polls. With a vote share of 2.69%, the splinter group got four MLAs.

The BSR Congress merged with the BJP before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

KRPP

Mining baron Janardhana Reddy had a fallout with the BJP and formed the KRPP in 2022.

The KRPP contested the 2023 Assembly polls in a few seats and Reddy emerged as its lone victor. The KRPP subsequently merged with the BJP.

Historically, several breakaway factions of the Congress, like the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Yuvajana Sramika Raithu Congress Party (YSRCP), have emerged as successful regional parties in the respective states.

However, splinter factions of the BJP have rarely tasted success. The BJP’s dependence on Hindutva ideology of the RSS and the cadre support it gets from the latter are factors in its favour.

“If a leader drifts from the core ideology of the BJP, staunch party workers and voters don’t support him or her. This has been the case historically,” said senior BJP leader and six-time Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar.

“The political character of Karnataka is akin to the national model of domination of national parties. It’s not parochial, but a liberal state,” said political analyst Harish Ramaswamy.

He said regional parties have failed to make an impact in Karnataka, with JD(S) being an exception.

Explaining the changing contours of political dynamics in India, Ramaswamy said: “Unless a leader has resources, a pan-Karnataka appeal and can communicate to every voter, it’s hard to sustain on their own. For these reasons and other historical factors, it will be an uphill task for Yatnal to be politically successful.”

First rebel group of BJP

A K Subbaiah, who fought for probity in public life, was the first BJP leader to form his own outfit in Karnataka.

Expelled from the BJP in 1984, Subbaiah floated his own party, Kannada Nadu. He later joined the Congress and became a proponent of the secular ideology. His son A S Ponnanna is currently Congress’ Virajpet MLA.