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The central leadership has sent a clear message to the party unit: all key decisions will be made in Delhi, and any rebellion or display of high-handedness will not be tolerated
Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was issued yet another notice on Monday for violating party discipline by continuing his tirade against the state leadership despite several warnings. (X @BasanagoudaBJP)
Two letters from the BJP central leadership—a show-cause notice to senior leader and MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for his rebellious stance and an order putting B Sandeep’s appointment as Chikkaballapur BJP district president on hold—have sent a clear message to the party unit: all key decisions will be made in Delhi, and any rebellion or display of high-handedness will not be tolerated.
Yatnal’s Continued Defiance
Yatnal, who has turned out to be the BJP’s Achilles’ heel, was issued yet another notice on Monday for violating party discipline by continuing his tirade against the state leadership despite several warnings. The leader has been served multiple notices earlier on similar grounds.
The latest notice marks the second time in less than two months that Yatnal has faced disciplinary action for publicly attacking BY Vijayendra, Karnataka BJP president, and his father, former BJP CM BS Yediyurappa.
However, despite the latest show-cause notice, party insiders say Yatnal is in no mood to stop his protest against Vijayendra.
“He is expected to give a reply in 72 hours since the notice has been issued, but he will continue his protest, be it in the form of a tell-all letter or communicating it directly to the BJP leadership about Vijayendra,” said a party insider.
“He is ready to face the consequences, be it suspension or any action the BJP high command plans. But he is in the mood to continue to expose Vijayendra and BSY’s misdoings until the BJP seniors are convinced,” said a senior BJP leader from the neutral camp of Karnataka BJP.
The notice demands Yatnal explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him, giving him 72 hours to respond.
‘Ready to Face the Consequences’
Yatnal, the face of rebellion in Karnataka BJP against Yediyurappa and Vijayendra, will face suspension if his reply does not satisfy the BJP high command, sources say.
Another senior leader, who sought anonymity, indicated that the BJP leadership is quite upset with Yatnal’s rebellious and indiscipline and may suspend him to set an example for others as well.
If this happens, it will mark the third time Yatnal is suspended from the party for raising a banner of revolt against the BJP, with which he has been associated for decades.
Yatnal was previously expelled from the BJP in December 2015 for his ‘anti-party activities’ after he refused to withdraw his nomination as a rebel candidate from the Vijayapura double-member constituency for the Legislative Council elections. He had also faced expulsion in May 2009 after openly criticising then CM Yediyurappa’s style of functioning.
Yatnal Takes His Grievances to Delhi
Yatnal, along with his supporters in the rebel camp—including BP Harish and Kumar Bangarappa—camped in Delhi for three days in the first week of February, seeking an appointment with the senior party leadership to air grievances against Vijayendra’s ‘dictator’ style of working. However, he and his team returned empty-handed.
The show-cause notice comes at a time when both teams — rebel leaders and Vijayendra — are in Delhi for the housewarming ceremony of Union minister V Somanna. Somanna is said to have had an hour-long meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah as well.
Yatnal, along with fellow rebel leaders Arvind Limbavali, Kumar Bangarappa, and MLA BPH Harish, said they conveyed their grievances about Yediyurappa and Vijayendra to the party high command and expressed confidence that Vijayendra would not remain the state president for long. He added that he would abide by whatever decision the leadership takes.
The state BJP unit feels that the central leaders should engage senior Karnataka leaders like Union minister Prahlad Joshi and Basavaraj Bommai to convince Yatnal to back down or face the consequences.
Firm Warning from BJP High Command
The latest notice, signed by BJP central disciplinary committee member secretary Om Pathak, cites Yatnal’s repeated defiance of party discipline. It states that his ongoing criticism of the leadership directly violates the party’s code of conduct and constitution.
“Despite your previous assurances of good behaviour in response to earlier show-cause notices, you have continued to breach party discipline,” the notice reads, referring to his persistent criticism of the state leadership.
The notice further warns that if Yatnal fails to respond within the given timeframe, the committee will assume he has no defence and may take necessary action.
Yatnal: A Rebel Who Won’t Back Down
Yatnal, the MLA from Vijayapura (formerly Bijapur), has long been a thorn in the side of BJP strongman Yediyurappa and now his son Vijayendra.
A former Union minister and a fiery leader from North Karnataka, Yatnal has made a name for himself by taking on the party’s top brass, challenging leadership decisions, and stirring controversy at every turn.
A vocal critic of the Yediyurappa-Vijayendra duo, he repeatedly accused the former CM of sidelining North Karnataka, allowing his son Vijayendra to run a “parallel administration”, and straying from the ideological path of the BJP, RSS, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He relentlessly attacked Yediyurappa during his rule, and now, he has turned his sights on Vijayendra, questioning his leadership as state BJP president.
Known as a “hot-headed” leader in the BJP, Yatnal has had frequent run-ins with the party leadership and has rarely maintained a smooth relationship with the top brass in recent years.
In 2009, when he was struggling to regain his political footing after his expulsion, Yatnal joined the JD(S) in January 2010, hoping for a comeback. That stint was short-lived, however, as he was a staunch pro-Hindutva leader and the ideologies of JD(S) at the time did not align with his. He quit JD(S) in October 2013 after losing the assembly election from the Vijayapura City constituency.
Yatnal’s influence stems from the backing he enjoys from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which has allowed him to openly challenge Yediyurappa without the fear of consequences. He also represents the powerful Panchamasali Lingayat community, a major subsect of the Lingayats, who form a crucial vote bank for the BJP. This has made any action against him a politically delicate matter.
Despite multiple show-cause notices from the party, Yatnal has refused to tone down his attacks. From claiming that some leaders “blackmailed and bribed” their way into the Karnataka cabinet to threatening to expose a Rs 40,000 crore scam under Yediyurappa’s BJP rule if expelled, he has shown no hesitation in taking on his own party.
“The question is whether he gets sidelined or manages to convince the national leaders but one thing is certain—Yatnal isn’t backing down anytime soon,” said a BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.
Chikkaballapur Appointment Halted: Sign of Central Control
The BJP central leadership has also made it clear that major decisions will not be left solely to the state leadership and an example of it was BJP national chief JP Nadda intervening and putting on hold the appointment of B Sandeep as Chikkaballapur BJP district president.
Vijayendra received a directive from the party’s Karnataka in-charge, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, conveying Nadda’s decision to pause the appointment until further notice. The move follows strong opposition from Chikkaballapur MP Dr K Sudhakar, who accused Vijayendra of making unilateral decisions without consulting senior leaders. Sudhakar has recently joined the bandwagon of those supporting Yatnal’s move to seek change of leadership in the state.
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