Bengaluru, March 27 Karnataka BJP leaders have decided to support the expelled BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and appeal to the party high command to reconsider its decision.
Following years of scathing attacks by MLA Yatnal on state chief B.Y. Vijayendra and his father, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the party announced on Wednesday that he (Yatnal) would be expelled for six years.
Former minister and senior BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi said that he had spoken to the high command regarding the matter. “MLA Yatnal has worked for the party. This step by the party is a warning bell for his detractors as well. Yatnal will rejoin the party,” he said.
Jarkiholi further added, “I won’t say who is behind the expulsion. Yatnal is not alone, we are with him.”
He continued, “MLA Yatnal is a prominent leader of the party, and I am clueless as to why this decision was made. I am not in a position to question the party's decision. We will meet in Bengaluru and discuss the issue. We will ask MLA Yatnal to write a letter to the high command and will request reconsideration of the decision.”
Former minister B. Sriramulu said that the expelled MLA Yatnal is a prominent leader of the state and belongs to the Lingayat community.
“He has strongly propagated Hindutva, and his expulsion has saddened Hindu activists across the state. I also believe that the party is above any individual. However, with Yatnal’s expulsion, the party will be weakened. I appeal to the high command to reconsider its decision,” Sriramulu said.
Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swamiji of Kudala Sangama Lingayat Panchamasali Mutt said that the people of the state had already begun seeing MLA Yatnal as a potential state chief.
“Many believed he would lead the party to victory and become the Chief Minister in the upcoming 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections. However, vested interests could not tolerate his rise and sidelined him, just as they did with the late B.B. Shivappa, eight-time MLA Umesh Katti, and others,” he said.
He said that Yatnal always opposed adjustment politics, adding that this is not a time for his detractors to celebrate.
“If the state leaders want to retain the respect and love of the community, they must reconcile. They should sit together, discuss, and find a way to revoke the expulsion order,” he said.
Former Minister Murugesh Nirani said that no one is above the high command, adding that MLA Yatnal was expelled twice before and was later reaccepted by the party.
“It is not appropriate to speak against senior party leaders. Even Chief Ministers have been removed on several occasions. Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has sacrificed and built this party for over 50 years. It is because of the hard work of Yediyurappa and the former union minister late H.N. Ananth Kumar that the party came to power and we became ministers. In any case, MLA Yatnal’s expulsion should not be permanent and should be revoked soon,” he said.
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