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The Chikkaballapur MP said Karnataka’s BJP needs collective and inclusive leadership, not an autocratic one-man rule
BJP’s Chikkaballapur MP Dr K Sudhakar has openly challenged state president BY Vijayendra over the appointment of district office-bearers. (X @DrSudhakar_)
“They are trying to rebuild the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), not the BJP,” said BJP’s Chikkaballapur MP Dr K Sudhakar, who joined the deepening rebellion within the party, openly challenging state president BY Vijayendra over the appointment of district office-bearers.
In a candid and sharp interview, Sudhakar speaks of how the BJP in Karnataka is in a state where only intervention from the high command can control the downward spiral.
Sudhakar joins a growing faction, including MLAs Basanagouda R Patil Yatnal, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Kumar Bangarappa among others who have been pushing for Vijayendra’s ouster.
The MP will meet the party high command on Friday, seeking an immediate resolution, warning that the BJP will remain weak and embarrassed in Karnataka—the state that gave the party its first breakthrough in southern India.
Sudhakar, who was brought into the BJP from Congress by Yediyurappa — Vijayendra’s father and former chief minister who is considered BJP’s tallest leader in southern India — said Karnataka’s BJP needs collective and inclusive leadership, not an autocratic one-man rule.
The Chikkaballapur MP expects the BJP in Karnataka to function as a team and “not as one individual, one family, or a party run by the family’s henchmen”.
“This is what is happening here. One person and his henchmen. They are trying to rebuild the KJP, not the BJP. Unfortunately, they should have focused on strengthening the BJP instead. And Congress is not weak in Karnataka,” he said.
The KJP was formed by Yediyurappa and was credited with bringing the BJP to power in Karnataka in 2008. Forced to quit in 2011 over corruption charges, Yediyurappa was assured of a return once the scandal died down. However, with CBI probing him, the BJP high command sidelined him.
Frustrated, Yediyurapapa quit the BJP and launched the KJP on December 9, 2012, to take on his former party in the 2013 assembly elections. While the KJP won only six seats, it damaged the BJP’s prospects in 29 constituencies, reducing its tally to 40 from the 110 it had won under Yediyurappa in 2008. In 2014, the KJP merged back into the BJP.
On the growing rebellion within the BJP, where senior leaders are upset over the way district office-bearers were appointed, Sudhakar dismissed claims of mere dissidence.
“Everybody has waited for 14 months. They now understand that under the present leadership, it is impossible to build the party. A party president must act like a father figure or an elder brother—someone who takes everyone along, not dictates terms. But that is not the case in the BJP in Karnataka today,” Sudhakar said.
He also stressed the need for the BJP to be a stronger, sharper, and more focused opposition, built ‘brick by brick,’ to challenge the ruling Congress. “When elections come, the BJP must be in a position to return to power because people realise the Congress has failed and the BJP can offer better governance.”
Sudhakar’s outburst comes days after BJP national general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal held a series of meetings with state leaders in an attempt to contain the rebellion.
He urged senior BJP leaders to step in immediately and resolve the crisis or risk major setbacks not just in Karnataka but across the southern states.
“Unless the high command addresses this issue urgently, south India will be lost. One must remember—the four years the BJP was in power were because of 17 people, including me, who joined the party and helped Yediyurappa become chief minister. Otherwise, he would have retired and been forgotten. The party must not forget this,” said Sudhakar, who joined the BJP in 2019 after bringing down the Congress-JDS coalition in a major political coup.
Sudhakar accused Vijayendra of unilaterally appointing district chiefs, including in Chikkaballapur, without consulting him. He will take up the issue with the party high command, questioning the undemocratic manner in which these decisions were made.
“There is a procedure, but he has manipulated and rigged it to suit himself. My grievance is that the party’s due process was ignored,” he said.
He argued that an MP’s opinion should have at least been sought. “I represent three districts as the only BJP MP from this region. If you don’t even consider, consult, or respond to phone calls and messages, how do you expect to grow the party?” he asked.
Sudhakar also did not hold back in criticising Vijayendra’s leadership, highlighting a major trust deficit in the Karnataka BJP.
“You can’t function in politics without trust. The DNA of any political system is trust. If a leader lacks trust, how will he build a party?” he questioned. He warned that if elections were held now, the BJP would struggle to win enough seats to return to power.
“Unless the high command realises the ground reality and fixes these issues soon, the BJP’s future in Karnataka does not look promising,” Sudhakar said.
- Location :
Bangalore, India, India
