Editorial: Can BJP set house in order before 2023 poll?

If there is one state in India which is characterised by political instability of the worst kind, it is Karnataka. An indecisive chief minister who has no control over his subordinates, bunglings on the law and order front and an abysmal lack of ability to send out a message of confidence to people of the state including the hard-pressed minorities, have been ‘hallmarks’ of the BJP government ever since Basavaraj Bommai took over the reins of power in July last year.

Did the BJP leadership err in putting in the saddle a leader who was yet to gain a commanding presence in the party and the loyalty of his senior colleagues? Or was it all the doing of the veteran of many a political battle, BS Yediyurappa, who by plumping for Bommai and no one else, made sure his shishya was always present to do his biding?

That the last ten months of Bommai rule have been anything but reassuring is known to citizens who have found the administration woefully lacking in fighting crisis after crisis from the unseasonal rain havoc last November to the scam allegations leveled by the Opposition Congress. And if the party felt polarisation was the best tool to supplement its support base among the majority community, it has failed for people are best off when they are left alone to live their lives on their own in a free and secular atmosphere.

The Assembly polls are still a year away, but there are enough signals emerging from the grassroots that the voter is disappointed and is looking for a more responsive and dynamic government rather than one which is constantly troubled by internal dissent.

So where does the BJP go from here after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s whirlwind tour on Tuesday when he came and saw but did not utter a word about what was on the cards for Karnataka? This is a state which voted more than a 100 BJP legislators to Vidhana Soudha four years ago and they definitely deserve an answer on why they are saddled with a government which seems directionless to say the least.

Filling vacancies in the state cabinet and bringing in more dynamic leaders is what the top brass seems to have in mind. That could even mean a change of CM but does the party have anyone who can fit into Bommai’s shoes and prove to be the knight in shining armour who can lead the BJP to victory in 2023? Leaders like Jagadish Shettar have had their chances but have failed to rise to the occasion. The second rung is sadly missing and this is a glaring pointer to the saffron party’s lack of attention to building an alternative leadership which can replace the Yediyurappas and Eshwarappas.

It’s therefore no surprise to find the Congress girding up to deploy all its resources to win Karnataka as it knows it has a real chance of securing a majority this time because of the failings of the government. Meanwhile, people of the state will have to keep waiting for better governance from the BJP including initiatives for development which will win their hearts and not politics of the vindictive kind.