Why are BJP leaders from Karnataka still feeling fighting in Gujarat elections?
BJP Rajya Sabha MP had appealed
BJP Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka Lahar Singh Siroya made an appeal to senior party MLAs last week. It was said that senior leaders of the party should follow the Gujarat model and voluntarily take retirement from electoral politics so that the youth can get a chance. This appeal through Siroya was made a day before PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Bengaluru on November 11. This appeal forced the senior MLAs of Karnataka BJP to think about what could be the plan inside the party regarding the future.
Age of more than 20 MLAs is more than 65 years
Talking about Karnataka BJP, there are more than 20 MLAs who are above 65 years of age, including former CM Jagadish Shettar, former deputy CM KS Eshwarappa, GH Thippareddy and SA Ravindranath. The party’s senior most MLA and former CM BS Yeddyurappa has already announced that he will not contest next year’s elections. Expressing his desire, he said that his son Vijayendra should contest from Shikaripura, his seat in Shivamogga.
A senior BJP MLA said, “If the central leadership decides to accommodate new faces, then all these MLAs, possibly with one or two exceptions, will have to stand down. He said there is already a rumor in a section of the party that Eshwarappa and Shettar may not be fielded in next year’s elections.
Strategy to engage youth as well as new faces
Another party member said that PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have always supported the idea of giving opportunities to young candidates and new faces. The recent nominations to the Karnataka Legislative Council are proof of this. So many are of the opinion that it is not necessary that the party should implement this formula in every election and every state. A legislator said, “Political equations differ from state to state. So it is not necessary that what turns out to be effective in one state may not be effective in another”.
