Karnataka BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel, whose term ends in the last week of August, has reportedly told the senior party leadership that he will not be able to put in another term owing to health reasons. The BJP is now looking to replace Kateel with a more assertive and aggressive leader ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. The appointment is expected to be a unilateral decision by the party, high-command sources said. While opinions of senior leadership in the state will be sought, it appears that the final decision will be taken by the central BJP leaders. A combination of factors including their organisational skills, oratory skills, track record and caste combinations have been taken into account, insiders said. Among the many who are in the race, three leaders are being seriously considered by the party high command: CT Ravi, Sunil Kumar and Shobha Karandlaje.
Kateel’s withdrawal from the race is also being seen as a face-saving act as the BJP high command is not keen on continuing with him. Despite not being a mass leader, who was barely known beyond Dakshina Kannada district, Kateel was appointed BJP president in August, 2019 under pressure from BJP senior leader BL Santosh. But now, the BJP is looking for a ‘war-time’ president who can lead the party into elections.
CT Ravi is a four-time legislator from Chikmagalur and is currently serving as a national general secretary of the BJP. He has served as a cabinet minister several times in the state and stepped down in September 2020. He has since been made BJP in-charge of several important states including Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Sources in BJP say BL Santosh has supported him for the post of president. Ravi hails from the Vokkaliga community, one of the numerically dominant caste bases and that might work in his favour. He is known to be a fiery orator, never shying away from making communal or controversial statements. He started his career as the face of the Dattapeetha movement in Chikmangalur in the 1990s which sought to take control of the syncretic Sufi shrine of Bababudan.
Another Vokkaliga leader in the race is Shobha Karandlaje. She is currently the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and has served as a cabinet minister in the Karnataka government under Yediyurappa. She hails from coastal Karnataka and is an MP from the Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency. Apart from being known as a good administrator she too is infamous for controversial, communal remarks. She was one of the earliest leaders in the state to latch on to the Love Jihad controversy.
The third contender, Sunil Kumar is a legislator from the coastal region and is currently serving as the Energy Minister in the state cabinet. He was co-incharge of BJP’s election campaign in Kerala. He hails from the Billava community which holds a lot of political influence in the coastal districts and has recently protested in large numbers against the state leadership of the BJP. Sunil Kumar’s appointment might work in placating the community. Indeed, he was the party’s main face and spokesperson during the recent communal conflagrations in the coast.
Whoever is appointed as the state president will have the task of not only organising the cadre but also strongly counter opposition leaders like Siddaramaiah, HD Kumaraswamy and DK Shivakumar. With Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai perceived as an electorally weak face to lead the party’s campaign, it will be up to the state president to lead the party’s charge in the upcoming elections.