BJP loyalists upset over party decision to welcome leaders from other parties

Karnataka BJP's loyal workers are reportedly upset with the party leadership's decision to invite leaders from other political parties. The strategy is to gain upper hand in the 2023 Assembly elections. Several Congress leaders had recently resigned from the party and joined BJP.

According to sources, loyal followers of the BJP are expressing dissatisfaction over preference being given to politicians who recently left other parties to join BJP. They are questioning the senior members of the party.

Senior Congress leader Pramod Madhwaraj, former MLC Sandesh Nagaraj, and former MLAs Varthur Prakash and Manjunath Gowda quit Congress together and joined BJP last week. The decision taken by these veteran politicians is expected to benefit BJP in certain regions.

BJP has been running 'Operation Lotus' to induct more leaders from Congress and JD(S). Party workers are upset that they will have to work for the new members as well. They also expressed dissatisfaction over the fact many of these leaders have openly criticised PM Modi.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said many leaders from opposition parties have approached the BJP. He added that these politicians have been instructed to join the BJP at an appropriate time.

Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti also joined BJP last week. Former Rajya Sabha member K.B. Krishnamurthy, former minister S.T. Jayaram's son Ashok Jayaram from Mandya, and former IRS officer Lakshmi Ashwin Gowda also joined the party after leaving the Janata Dal (Secular).

BJP's loyal workers are raising the question of why they should put in effort for party ideologies and take risks if leaders from outside are preferred. They criticised the move by saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn't mean by Congress Mukt Bharat that BJP started inviting the Congress leaders into the party at the cost of loyalists.