It is not just the Congress that is facing internal strife and in-fighting among its top leaders, its rival the BJP is no better, with a major section of its rank and file up in revolt against the state party leadership in the southern state of Karnataka.

Moves are afoot to dislodge the state unit BJP president and son of B S Yeddyurappa — B Y Vijayendra — from disgruntled leaders who have been questioning his elevation in the party a few months ago. Today senior BJP leaders in the state like Chikkaballapur MP and former Health Minister, Dr K Sudhakar, have openly come out against the leadership of Yeddyurappa junior.

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Vijayendra has been unable to command the kind of respect his father commanded within the party and with the rank and file and also given his seemingly partisan manner of promoting his supporters has further alienated him from the party rank and file. Senior leaders in the party are unhappy with his style of functioning and his penchant to appoint his loyalists to various posts in the party has not gone down well with powerful leaders within the party, who are said to be biding their time for the present.

His father, former CM and Liyagat strongman, Yeddyurappa was the undisputed leader of the BJP and he even taught a lesson to the party when he walked away from the party and ensured its crushing defeat. Following this, the senior Yeddyurappa was invited back to the party and given charge, and he delivered. But in the organisational revamp the BJP national leadership shifted Yeddyruppa and eventually caved in and made his son the state unit chief.

Yeddyurappa’s critics are unable to come out openly in the fear of being sidelined in the party and face political isolation. But now, increasingly party leaders are stepping out and questioning the very appointment of Yeddurappa junior as the state unit chief. Led by Basangouda Patil Yatnal, a section of the party is making moves against his leadership.

Yatnal has now found some other leaders within the party who have begun to question Vijayendra’s authority.

In addition to Yatnal, leaders like Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, former Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, former minister Arvind Limbavali and former MLA Kumar Bangarappa are among those voicing strong opposition to Yeddyurappa junior.

Vijayendra has managed to alienate several MLAs, former ministers, and a faction of Yeddyurappa supporters. But the concern of those rebelling against the current state BJP unit chief is the fact that there could be no leadership change till the next elections cycle which is some good three years away.

But there is a section within the BJP state unit that believes that the central party leadership could pay attention to the Karnataka party affairs once the Delhi assembly elections are over in the second week of February.