Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Karnataka pacifies sulking party leaders

Bengaluru: After Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Karnataka, the internal issues in the BJP seem to have been resolved.

The party had been facing problems after candidate selection and some leaders, who had been left out, were expressing their grievances openly.

Some BJP candidates even faced go-back campaigns by their party men in Chitradurga, Chikkaballapur, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Bengaluru North, Koppal and Shivamogga constituencies.

Independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya was also not happy after the seat was given to the JD(S) party.

Former Deputy CM K.S. Eshwarappa had declared that he would contest as an independent candidate after his son was denied the ticket.

Yelahanka BJP MLA S.R. Vishwanath expressed his outrage against the party allotting a ticket to former minister K. Sudhakar for Chikkaballapur MP Seat.

In Chitradurga, BJP MLA B.N. Chandrappa had challenged the candidature of former DyCM Govind Karjol for Chitradurga MP Seat and had stated that he would field his son as an independent candidate.

Former DyCM Govind Karajol was greeted with go-back posters in Chitradurga.

Former CM Jagadish Shettar faced a rebellion in Belagavi. Union Ministers of State Bhagwanth Khuba and Shobha Karandlaje also faced internal rifts in Bidar and Bengaluru North Parliamentary Seats.

Sources said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah gave the task to former CM Yediyurappa to quell the rebellion by pacifying disgruntled leaders. Yediyurappa managed to quell the dissent in Belagavi, Bidar, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, and Koppal constituencies.

Amit Shah amid the tight schedule in the state on Tuesday made personal phone calls to Sumalatha Ambareesh, Eshwarappa and Vishwanath. Following this Sumalatha declared that she would be joining the BJP. Eshwarappa is reaching Delhi by Wednesday evening to talk to the leadership.

Chikkaballapur MP Candidate Dr K. Sudhakar met BJP MLA Vishwanath at his residence in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Vishwanath, who expressed outrage against Sudhakar, earlier greeted him warmly in the presence of Karnataka election in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal.

Congress, hoping to bank on internal strife in BJP and dreaming of winning, is now disappointed with the development and preparing for tough competition.