Bengaluru: BJP leader and co-incharge of Karnataka BJP Sudhakar Reddy on Friday warned warring factions of the state BJP to end their public spat and wait patiently for the decision of the party's high command about the election of the new president for the state unit. "All leaders must exercise restraint and stop making statements in public. This instruction is not for any particular leader but for all. There is no space for confrontation in BJP," Reddy said.
He also appealed to state leaders to approach the high command if they have any issues. "Our high command is quite capable of addressing all your issues," he said. Expressing concern over the public spat between the factions of State BJP President B Y Vijayendra and senior BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Reddy said that the sentiments of lakhs of party workers have been deeply hurt by the developments in Karnataka BJP.
"As a responsible opposition, we should be focusing on exposing Congress' failures and misdeeds. People are very angry with the Congress but as a principal opposition, we have not been able to make use of it," he added.
Opposition Leader in Assembly R Ashoka also appealed to his party colleagues to shun their differences and join hands to utilize what he called the golden opportunity provided to them by the Congress through its misrule. "There are several issues from corruption and misrule to price rise and harassment by microfinance companies...But due to our infighting, we are not able to make use of this opportunity," he said.
Both Vijayendra and Yatnal groups have been washing their dirty linen in public for the past few months and it has only intensified with the party announcing elections for the state BJP president post. While Vijayendra is lobbying to continue as the President, Yatnal and his supporters are leaving no stone unturned to dethrone him. The party's neutral faction consisting of former CMs D V Sadanand Gowda, Basavaraj Bommai, R Ashoka and other senior leaders also reportedly did not try to resolve the issue.
