Irked by the comments of BJP patriarch L.K. Advani about “bungling” by the state unit of the party, former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has offered to meet the leader and explain in detail about the prospects of the party in Karnataka.

Taking exception to Mr Advani’s remarks on the state of affairs of the party in Karnataka, the former chief minister has written a leader pointing out how such negative comments would not only erode the confidence of party workers but also provide an ideal opportunity for the Opposition to take advantage of the situation. “If you think I am the root cause for the problems you perceive in our state, you being the tallest leader of our party, I can meet you in person to explain the BJP’s political prospects in Karnataka. My fervent request to you is, in future kindly bestow your comments which may strengthen the integrity and morality of BJP as well party workers,” says the letter.

Copies of the letter have been dispatched to party president Nitin Gadkari, and senior central leaders including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh The letter says, “I remember you appreciating D.V. Sadananda Gowda’s administration during his initial days (in office). Now with these comments, Jagadish Shettar has to face the consequences. Your statement will not only hit our party workers’ confidence but also lead to taking undue advantage of the situation by Opposition parties, Janata Dal (S) and Congress, when elections (to the Legislative Assembly) are barely nine months away. With this reminder, I would like to reiterate that the BJP’s prominence and reputation remains in its place in our state. You may get a survey done for an accurate understanding (of the party’s prospects in Karnataka).”

Mr Yeddyurappa has found fault with Mr Advani for the latter’s comments during ‘Jan Chetana Yatra’ when the former chief minister was in judicial custody for 23 days, saying they were made without realising the “political impact”. Besides, he charged that he was forced to resign merely to please the then Lok Ayukta Justice N. Santosh Hegde after several unsuccessful attempts to unseat him.

Gowda backs Advani’s blog, BSY not amused
Former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Tuesday hit back at his friend-turned-foe in the BJP, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, for endorsing party leader L.K. Advani’s comments on the state of affairs in the Karnataka state unit. “Mr Gowda is a former chief minister and I believe he will issue statements with a sense of responsibility. He should come out in the open and talk about corruption, if any, during my tenure as chief minister,” Mr Yeddyurappa told reporters here during a visit to the party office in Malleshwaram.

Mr Advani had stated in his blog, “So far as BJP is concerned, the bungling in Karnataka notwithstanding, all recent public opinion surveys clearly reveal that the principal beneficiary of the Congress’ fast-eroding reputation continues to be the BJP.” While endorsing Mr Advani’s comments on BJP “bungling” in Karnataka, Mr Sadananda Gowda had said there were no instances of corruption during his 11-month tenure as CM and he had provided clean governance. Reacting to this, Mr Yeddyurappa said that because of such statements, Mr Advani was getting a wrong message about party affairs in Karnataka. “I would like to tell Mr Gowda that Mr Advani had appreciated my work as CM but now the opinion has changed,” he said.

The former CM said he would meet Mr Sadananda Gowda and clear his doubts on the BJP “bungling” during his tenure as CM. He said he would also meet Mr Advani and place the facts before him to clear the air. The Lingayat strongman visited the BJP office to send a message to the party central leadership that he should not be ignored at any cost with the state set to go to general elections in a few months.