BJP state president BY Vijayendra shared a meal with farmers near Koppal on Thursday, Day 3 of the march
Since Congress’ sweeping win in 2023 under Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, the state BJP unit has struggled to make a political impact.
The appointment of BY Vijayendra, first-time MLA and son of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, as state president was expected to “infuse” fresh energy in the party. “Cadre was at its lowest with many feeling brass was embroiled in its own issues and not taking on the Congress govt,” said a senior functionary. But the impact of that march quickly faded after what many described as a “tame” conclusion and a lack of support from party brass. Political analyst Harish Ramaswamy said the march appears more of a Vijayendra-led exercise than a collective BJP initiative, and its real impact can be gauged only in the long term. It was more of dividing our strengths,” said Narayanswamy, claiming the strong support for the padayatra had rattled the govt. But Kumar Naik, Raichur Congress MP, called the padayatra a “walk to nowhere”. The walkathon will have no impact,” he said. BK Hariprasad, Congress state president, said: “We held a meeting with district presidents and functionaries of Kalyana Karnataka earlier this week, and everyone said drought is the most pressing issue.
“They had even considered branching out on their own. The row over former statistics and planning minister B Nagendra’s induction into Shivakumar’s cabinet gave BJP an opening. But not everyone is convinced. Opposition leader in the legislative council Chalavadi Narayanswamy differed. “Senior brass decided to let local functionaries lead the padayatra along with the party president leaving others to target the govt at various levels. “At a time when farmers need help, BJP is politicising a non-issue since Nagendra has already resigned. BJP is only politicking with this padayatra. We will provide a befitting response.”
Vijayendra had previously led a padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru over the alleged Muda scam.
“It also has a larger context with BJP trying to woo back the Scheduled Tribe (ST) vote bank that is strong in Raichur and Ballari since Congress swept all 17 ST assembly seats in 2023,” he said.