It is not just former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa who has put the BJP in a spot of bother through his rebellion, as the party is concerned about the undercurrent of dissidence by other disappointed ticket aspirants refusing to die down in a slew of Lok Sabha constituencies.
Former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who is upset over being denied party ticket, has stated that the Congress leaders are in touch with him and that he would announce his decision on the happenings in the party on Tuesday.
Mr. Gowda, who presently represents Bengaluru North Lok Sabha seat for which the party has chosen Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje as its nominee, publicly expressed displeasure over denying ticket to him. “I am pained because I was denied ticket though mine was the only name that was recommended for the constituency by the local leaders. Also, the party Central leaders had told me that in the entire State, mine was the only constituency which had recommended a single name,” Mr. Gowda told media persons on the sidelines of a programme organised in Bengaluru to mark his birthday.
Pointing an accusing finger at the BJP State leadership, he said: “The BJP State leaders initially pushed me into contest though I was hesitant to continue in politics. But nobody came to my rescue later. They are trying to sacrifice me for somebody else’s selfishness.”
Admitting that the Congress leaders were trying to woo him, he said he would announce his decision on Tuesday after consulting his family members and going by by his conscience. “There is nothing left in the BJP to say that it is a party with a difference,” he said.
In Chikkodi, speculations were rife that the Congress leaders were in touch with the BJP’s disappointed ticket aspirant Ramesh Katti, though Mr. Katti himself denied them. Haveri constituency, where former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has been fielded by the BJP, on Monday saw a verbal duel between the local BJP leaders right in front of Mr. Bommai at a poll-related meeting in Gadag.
Bidar, Tumakuru, Mysuru-Kodagu, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, and Koppal constituencies too are facing heartburns among disappointed ticket aspirants though no one has publicly raised a banner of revolt in these constituencies. BJP insiders observe that if left unresolved, these heartburns may turn tricky for the party.
