Mysuru: It has been a chaotic ten days for the
BJP unit in
Varuna, following the party leadership’s decision to deny the ticket to former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s son and general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha
BY Vijayendra. While the party candidate from the segment Thotadappa Basavaraju has been campaigning in the segment, Vijayendra’s supporters have been making things difficult for him – apart from interrupting a party meeting he had convened, they also held a bike rally urging people in the segment to choose None OfThe Above (NOTA) option during the polls.
Basavaraju has also alleged that Vijayendra’s followers were trying to intimidate him. With the local party unit clearly divided, BJP national president Amit Shah’s visit to the segment on Saturdayassumes great importance. Shah is expected to give a fillip to Basavaraju’s campaign.
A section of Vijayendra’s followers had been demanding the party field Vijayendra from Varuna since April, but the BJP top brass decided against it in the eleventh hour. None too pleased with the move, Vijayendra’s supporters openly rebelled against the party’s decision, making it clear that they would not support the BJP in the election. This has resulted in the party’s campaign grounding to a halt in the segment.
Shah’s visit to Varuna is expected to revive the flagging spirits of the local party workers. The party president will participate in a roadshow at Haadinaru village, 25km from Mysuru city. Shah will then address voters and party workers in the village after holding a roadshow. Shah will then participate in roadshows that will proceed along all three urban constituencies in the city – Krishnaraja, Chamaraja and Narasimharaja. He will also campaign for the BJP candidate Manjunath in Periyapatna.
Meanwhile, party sources are looking at Shah’s roadshow and interaction with BJP workers in Varuna as an expression of his displeasure with both Yeddyurappa and Vijayendra, who have shown no interest in the segment in the past ten days.
On the other hand, Shah is expected to spend more time in the KR segment, which was the party’s stronghold for nearly 20 years. His rally in the segment has been scheduled towards the end of the day.
At NR segment, he will participate in a roadshow that will go through Shivaji Road, while it will proceed towards the east end of CR segment.
‘Union ministers, Yogi to campaign’
Meanwhile, Mysuru MP Pratap Simha said that Union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, an Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath would campaign in the state.
