The Indian Express | 1 week ago | 18-03-2023 | 11:45 am
In 2010, when the BJP government in Karnataka stood on the precipice of a collapse and was torn between the factions led by then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and another led by the Reddy brothers of Bellary, just a handful among the 117 BJP MLAs were considered loyal only to the party. One such MLA was C T Ravi, the BJP’s current national general secretary and four-time MLA from Chikmagalur constituency in the Western Ghats.One of the defining features of the political graph of the 55-year-old Ravi is this staunch loyalty – to both the BJP and Sangh Parivar. When Ravi speaks on a subject, he is seen as having the blessing of leaders right at the top.This is one key reason Ravi’s remarks indicating a limited role for Yediyurappa and his son B Y Vijayendra ahead of the Karnataka elections, are being watched with such interest.On March 14, Ravi, who is the BJP in-charge for the states of Tamil Nadu, Goa and Maharashtra, suggested that the former CM and his son were no longer dominant forces in the party. “Just remember one thing. The decision on candidates will not be taken in anyone’s kitchen. Nobody will get a ticket because they are somebody’s son. The decision on tickets will also not be taken at the home of an aspirant,” Ravi said, going on to specifically mention Yediyurappa’s son. “On the question of Vijayendra, the decision will be taken by the parliamentary board,” he said.While this might seem in step with the BJP’s efforts to provide 80-year-old Yediyurappa a golden handshake, the remarks set off alarm bells in sections of the faction- and caste-ridden BJP in Karnataka.Held a roadshow in Molakalmuru, Karnataka today. Your enthusiasm shows that you have decided ‘Ek Baar BJP, Baar Baar BJP’. The Congress promoted politics of corruption & dynastic rule but the people have placed their faith in the report card politics of the BJP. pic.twitter.com/u5FTRzN8lP— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) March 17, 2023They also seemed contrary to the BJP central leadership’s recent efforts to keep Yediyurappa in good humour ahead of the elections – his status as the foremost leader of the dominant Lingayat community in the state vital to the party’s ambitions of obtaining a first-ever, clear-cut majority in Karnataka. Among others, visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have made it a point to acknowledge Yediyurappa’s efforts.Vijayendra, 46, hit back, suggesting that nobody should take his father’s silence as a sign of weakness. “Those criticising him should be careful,” warned Vijayendra, whose political career Yediyurappa is seen as seeking to secure before he bows out.With Ravi a leader of the rival Vokkaliga community, Lingayat organisations threatened protests over Ravi’s remarks, even as he sought to quash rumours that he meant to imply that the BJP did not require the support of the community, which makes up 17 per cent of the state’s population. Yediyurappa too fanned the fires. “Nobody should speak in this manner. All communities are needed to win polls,” he said.The BJP central leadership is believed to have since advised Ravi to exercise caution while making statements.However, the matter might continue to fester as indicated by a seemingly unconnected incident, when Yediyurappa was forced to cancel a rally in Mudigere, a constituency in Chikmagalur district, on Thursday, after BJP workers staged a protest against re-fielding the sitting party MLA (M P Kumaraswamy).Yediyurappa left Mudigere in a huff, with Ravi’s advice to BJP workers to “not embarrass the party with these protests” likely to cut no ice.Apart from belonging to the Vokkaliga community that is the second most prominent in the state after the Lingayats, Ravi’s rise in Karnataka politics differs in another crucial aspect from Yediyurappa’s. In the communally tinged region of Chikmagalur, which lies adjacent to the polarised coastal region of Karnataka, Ravi first rose as a BJP youth leader in the post-Babri era (in the 1990s) in a Hindutva agitation for control of a shrine in Chikmagalur’s Bababudangiri Hills.The Datta Peetha shrine is revered by Hindus and Muslims alike, with the Hindu groups lately gaining control.Three decades hence, Ravi’s brand of politics remains hardcore Hindutva, contrary to the more moderate Yediyurappa, who doesn’t subscribe to some of the shrill language coming out of the BJP camp, including on Tipu Sultan. One of Ravi’s controversial coinages includes referring to former Congress CM Siddaramaiah as “Siddaramullah Khan”.This difference has often pitted Ravi and Yediyurappa against each other, since Ravi entered the Assembly for the first time in 2004 as a 36-year-old MLA.Initially allied with the Ananth Kumar group, which also had a big say in the central BJP in the pre-Modi era, Ravi is now considered close to BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh. The latter was earlier secretary (organisation) of the BJP in Karnataka.Ravi’s elevation in September 2020 – when Yediyurappa was the CM for a second term – came following the appointment of Santhosh as national general secretary. He was a tourism minister in the Yediyurappa government at the time, and considered one of the young frontrunners after the BJP forced the veteran leader out as CM in July 2021. However, the BJP finally played safe and plumped for another Lingayat candidate to replace Yediyurappa, in the form of Basavaraj Bommai.At that time too, several social media posts by Ravi were widely seen as aimed at the Lingayat strongman. In one of these, he narrated the story of the fall of the Vijayanagar empire under the leadership of its last ruler, Rama Raya, after the battle of Talikota. “Without a leader to provide direction, the Vijayanagar army was routed. If somebody other than sycophants were leading the army, history would have been different… Can the story of the destruction of a great empire not teach us a lesson?” Ravi posted.With Yediyurappa’s term often battling corruption charges, Ravi also posted: “The BJP is a principled party which has zero tolerance towards corruption.”While Ravi continues to be seen as a future leader of Karnataka for the BJP, and hence one of the biggest obstacles in the way of Yediyurappa’s son Vijayendra, Ravi’s drawback is that he does not enjoy the mass support of any caste group, unlike Yediyurappa. He tries to justify this saying that he doesn’t play “casteist” politics.Ravi, who became a minister for the first time in 2012 under the BJP government led by Jagadish Shettar, has had his fair share of controversies too, with questions being raised in the past over the rapid increase in his wealth, including from within the party.However, these allegations and his recent controversal remarks aside, Ravi with his organisational skills is expected to play a pivotal role in the coming Karnataka polls. The BJP has set a target for itself of winning a majority on its own — after failing by a whisker in 2008 (3 short of the magic figure of 113 in the 224-member Assembly) and 2018 (finishing at 104), both times under Yediyurappa’s leadership.
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