BENGALURU: With BY Vijayendra completing his tenure of three years as Karnataka BJP president on Tuesday, the party’s central brass faces a familiar dilemma: retain a Lingayat at the helm, or pick a non-Lingayat to ease differences within the community.Harish Chandra Dwivedi, BJP national general secretary in charge of Karnataka, is in Bengaluru for the second time this month to find an answer. A non-Lingayat pick would not be unprecedented since the party has had presidents from several communities, including a Kuruba, Vokkaliga, Brahmin and Bunt.But the circumstances make this decision more consequential. Naming the rounds include former minister V Sunil Kumar (Billava), Union minister Shobha Karandlaje (Vokkaliga), Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya (Brahmin) and CN Ashwath Narayan (Vokkaliga).The choice is complicated by the party’s dependence on Lingayat base built since the split of erstwhile Janata Dal decades ago. Of the four chief ministers from the party, three were Lingayats (BS Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai) and one Vokkaliga (DV Sadananda Gowda).The community, estimated at 15–17% of the state’s population, has a significant presence across north and central Karnataka and influences a large number of constituencies including some in the south.Yediyurappa transformed BJP’s fortunes, cashing in on the anti-Congress sentiments in the community in the 1980s. In 1989, he was its only Lingayat MLA. By 2004, the party had 34, rising to 39 in 2008, when it formed its first govt in the state. Shettar and Bommai’s appointments as CM after Yediyurappa’s exit reflected the importance attached to the community.The cost of a breakdown was evident in 2013. Forced to step down as CM, Yediyurappa left BJP and formed Karnataka Janata Paksha. BJP’s tally fell from 110 seats in 2008 to 40, while KJP secured 9. Of the vote, his return helped the party win 17 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. Now, past his prime, his influence has waned.Non-Lingayat presidents offer mixed results. KS Eshwarappa (Kuruba) headed the unit from 1993 to 1998, when the party expanded. Sadananda Gowda, president from 2006 to 2010, presided over the 110-seat win in 2008, though Yediyurappa was the central figure. Pralhad Joshi (Brahmin) took charge in March 2013. Nalin Kumar Kateel (Bunt), president from 2019 to 2023, led BJP to 25 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, but assembly strength fell from 104 in 2018 to 66 in 2023. The results show how national trends, factionalism and strong regional faces shape outcomes.If a non-Lingayat is named party chief, a Lingayat is expected to become opposition leader, with Aravind Bellad in the reckoning. Vijayendra’s replacement could also reopen the debate over the Yediyurappa family’s influence in the state unit. The central brass will have to balance organisational change with the need to keep Yediyurappa and his supporters on board.MB Maramkal, political strategist, believes a non-Lingayat president is unviable, given the party’s history. “The party’s social coalition and alliance with JD(S) are also factors. A non-Lingayat could upset the coalition. With Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga as JD(S) face and Lingayats as BJP face, the alliance would do well if they work in tandem. Opposition leader post should go to a prominent SC/ST member. The choices will show how central brass will balance community representation, organisational renewal and influence of its state functionaries,” he said.
