Lingayat factor: BJP wary of acting against Yatnal

Shyam Sundar Vattam I NT

Bengaluru: There are many who wonder why a disciplined party like the BJP is reluctant to take action against Vijayapura City MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal despite his diatribe against state leaders including senior leader and former CM B.S.Yediyurappa. The reason is the fear of antagonising the majority Lingayat community to which he belongs.

Yatnal has now started targeting incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and has not spared Large & Medium Scale Industries Minister Murgesh Nirani either. The personal enmity between Nirani and Yatnal has touched new heights after Nirani was inducted into the Council of Ministers and given a plum portfolio.

Yatnal is the leader of the powerful Panchamasali community which has the power to make or mar the future of any political party. All these years, the community has backed the BJP. But this time, the community is angry with the BJP for not hiking the reservation for them under the 2A category.

Yatnal has already given an indication of his popularity to BJP National General secretary and incharge of Karnataka Affairs Arun Singh when he asked ‘who is Yatnal?’ After a severe backlash from the Panchamasali community, Singh had to swallow his pride and offered an apology.

With the Assembly polls around the corner, the BJP does not want to antagonise major communities like Panchamasali Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Kurubas and SC/STs. For this reason, the party has decided to adopt a cautious apporach vis-a-vis Yatnal.

Following instructions from the high command, the state leaders have decided not to counter Yatnal’s statements as the Congress Party is waiting for an opportunity to take mileage from such sensitive issues.