BJP braves ‘Operation Palm’ buzz in Karnataka

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, August 21

The BJP on Monday described the buzz around possible reverse defection of Karnataka MLAs to the Congress as “imaginary” even as party top brass in the state worked to keep their flock together by engaging the MLAs who had jumped Congress ship in 2019 aiding the formation of a BJP government in the state.

A Sunday meeting between BJP MLA from Yeshwanthpur ST Somashekar and Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah lent heft to the buzz even though Somashekar said the meeting was about development works in his assembly segment.Somashekar was among Congress leaders who defected to the BJP in 2019.

Somashekar met Siddaramaiah close on the heels of skipping a meeting former chief minister BS Yediyurappa called in Bengaluru on Friday. Another BJP MLA Byrathi Basavaraj also absented from the Friday meeting raising questions on intrigues in the saffron camp.

“We won’t respond to imaginary, mythical questions,” BJP leader from Karnataka and minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar said today dismissing talk of Operation Palm by the Congress to avenge Operation Lotus of 2019.

Another Sunday meeting—between JDs’ Ayanur Manjunath (he too had joined the BJP in 2019) and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar fuelled the speculation that all may not be well with the BJP camp in Karnataka. “Shivakumar is my political guru,” Manjunath said after the meeting.

Shivakumar later reminded the BJP of poaching Congress MLAs in 2019 to “grab power in the state.”

As many as 17 Congress and JDS MLAs had defected to the BJP in 2019 facilitating the installation of a BJP government under BS Yediyurappa.

The buzz of Operation Palm on the eve of Lok Sabha polls 2024 has queered the Karnataka pitch with the BJP working to retain 25 of the state’s 28 segments it had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.