Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Apr 5: Independent MLA, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, and former JD(S) legislator, Mallikarjun Khuba, former union minister, Basavaraja Patil Anwari, and former minister, Nagappa Saloni, crossed over to BJP on Wednesday April 4. However, this defection has caused heartburn in the party as dissent against admission of Yatnal and Khuba in particular into BJP has been brewing and gaining alarming proportions.

Supporters of former minister, Appu Pattanashetti, who is an aspirant for BJP ticket from Vijayapura this time, have been holding strong protest against Yatnal's admission into the party. One of the supporters of Pattanashetti even consumed poison and fell ill. In additon, BJP city corporators at Vijayapura gave went to their anger by locking the door of the party in the city.

At the same time, there is resentment against admitting former Basavakalyana MLA, Mallikarjun Khuba, into BJP. Local leaders held protest in front of the BJP office at Basavakalyana on Wednesday, urging the leadership not to allow Khuba to join BJP at any cost. The protesters said that they have been fighting against Khuba since the last two decades and that they can not suddenly change their stance and support him. They also said that even if the leader is given entry into the party, he should not be given ticket to fight the coming election.

Protests and frictions have also been noticed in Vijayapura district against A S Patil Nadahalli who was allowed to cross over to BJP recently, and at Kalaburagi against Malikayya Guttedar. Several ticket aspirants from the party have also warned of deserting the party. A number of of them are cozying up to JD(S), thus making BJP leaders jittery.

In spite of widespread opposition within the party against the above four leaders, state BJP president, B S Yeddyurappa, welcomed them into the party at the state office of the party here by handing them party flags on Wednesday, in the presence of former minister, V Somanna, MLAs, Sanganna Karadi, Manappa Vajjal, and other leaders. Yeddyurappa said that Malikayya Guttedar, who has left Congress, will join BJP along with some more Congress MLAs on April 8 or 9. He said that some MLAs of JD(S) are in contact with him, and felt that addition of Yatnal, Khuba, and two others are boosted the chances of his party. Yatnal said that he would be fighting assembly election from Vijayapura constituency and that he would be filing nomination papers on Basava Jayanti day. He said that those who are against his entry into BJP were the ones who never worked for the party, and because of whom the party faced debacle in zilla and taluk panchayat elections.