BJP rival camps end ceasefire and continue with tirade

BJP internal feud escalates as rebels accuse party leadership of collusion with Congress, prompting warnings from loyalists.

The tirade between the rival camps in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that had stopped for some time after the party leadership had issued a show-cause notice to rebel leader Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal has again resumed with both the camps calling off the ceasefire.

While Mr. Yatnal resumed the attack a few days ago, his camp’s prominent member Kumar Bangarappa took the lead on Saturday by launching a public tirade against party State president B.Y. Vijayendra. Mr. Bangarappa accused Mr. Vijayendra of being hand in glove with Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

On Sunday, Mr. Vijayendra’s camp hit out at the rebels, with M.P. Renukacharya accusing the rebels of having a tacit understanding with the Congress. He particularly accused Mr. Yatnal of having an understanding with a senior Congress Minister.

He accused the rebels of indulging in loose talk. “If they had any respect for the BJP organisation, they would not have indulged in public attack at the party leadership,” he maintained.

Alleging that there is no consistency in the rebels’ stand, Mr. Renukacharya pointed out that Mr. Yatnal had earlier termed the show-cause notice issued to him as “fake”. Pointing out that Mr. Yatnal had declared that he was not afraid of such notices and that he would not bother to reply to them, he wondered why the Vijayapura MLA had replied to the notice if he was not scared.

Taking exception to the rebels’ claim that the party State president would be unseated, he maintained that Mr. Vijayendra was bound to be continued in the post and warned the rebels against continuing their tirade.