All is not well in the Kalaburagi district unit of the BJP with charges and counter-charges of foul play, following an accident involving senior party leader Revu Naik Belamgi.
Besides this, there is resentment over appointments to party posts at the district and State levels by B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Mr. Revu Naik Belamgi, a four-time MLA and who contested against M. Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency twice and lost narrowly, met with an accident in May this year when his SUV hit a culvert.
He suffered serious injuries, including fractures in his ribs.
Mr. Belamgi was in hospital for more than a month. According to him, senior police officials, who met him in the hospital, suspected foul play and indicated that an investigation would be launched if a formal complaint is made. But, a complaint was not filed, since he believed that the accident was not intentional.
Within political circles, especially, the BJP, there have been suspicions of foul play, going by the way the accident took place. The vehicle was going at breakneck speed. According to Mr. Belamgi, the driver did not visit the hospital.
“I also started believing in the theory that an attempt was made on my life, to remove me from the scene, to gain party ticket for the Assembly elections,” Mr. Belamgi said.
The Banjara Community leaders have also begun demanding a probe into the allegations of foul play. Incidentally, Mr. Belamgi enjoys a clout in the Banjara community, which had stood behind the BJP in the previous elections.
Any division of the votes among the Banjara community over this issue, would erode the vote base of the BJP.
Added to this, the alleged attempts by the BJP leadership to sideline Mr. Belamgi by appointing his detractors to the senior positions is also creating ripples.
A new entrant and a former Congress leader Baburao Chavan, who is a rival of Mr. Belamgi, has been elevated and appointed as Vice-President of the State unit. Incidentally, Mr. Belamgi had defeated Mr. Baburao Chavan in the Assembly elections.
