Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka
ಭಾರತೀಯ ಜನತಾ ಪಕ್ಷ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ
AbbreviationBJP
PresidentB. Y. Vijayendra
Chairperson
HeadquartersBJP Bhawan, 11th Cross, Temple Street, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru-560003, Karnataka
Colours  Saffron
Seats in Lok Sabha
25 / 28
Seats in Rajya Sabha
6 / 12
Seats in Karnataka Legislative Assembly
66 / 224
Seats in Karnataka Legislative Council
35 / 75
Election symbol
Lotus
Party flag
Website
karnataka.bjp.org

The Bharatiya Janata Party, or simply, BJP Karnataka (BJP; [bʱaːɾət̪iːjə dʒənət̪aː paːrtiː] ⓘ; lit. 'Indian People's Party'), is the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party of the Karnataka. Its head office is situated at the BJP Bhavan, 11th Cross, Temple Street, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru. The current president of BJP Karnataka is B. Y. Vijayendra. It is the main opposition party in Karnataka.

Till date 4 chief ministers from the party have served the state.[1]

Electoral history

BJP contested 110 seats in the January 1983 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, winning 18 seats and obtained 7.9% of the votes cast across the state.[2][3] Out of its 110 candidates, 71 lost their deposits.[2] Along with the Andhra Pradesh legislative election there same year, this marked the first major performance of the party in southern India.[2] Nine out of the 18 BJP legislators came from the coastal districts.[4] The influence of BJP in Karnataka was marked by its inability to mobilize support in rural areas, where the Janata Dal leader Ramakrishna Hegde and Abdul Nazir Sab (Hegde's Rural Development Minister) had built a strong network of local Janata Dal leaders through the panchayat system.[4] After the 1983 election the BJP offered some outside support to the Hegde government.[4]

The party suffered a set-back in the 1985 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, only 2 of its 115 candidates were elected.[2] The party obtained 3.7% of the state-wide vote and 100 of its candidates lost their deposits.[2] The BJP’s journey is one of evolution, from a nascent political force to a powerful institution, from a unifying voice to a catalyst for change.

The 1980s was characterized by internal strife in the BJP Karnataka unit, as the followers of Ananth Kumar and V. Dhananjay Kumar combatted each other.[5] Ananth Kumar was the secretary of the Karnataka BJP unit 1987–1988.[6] In 1988, trying to overcome the split, B. S. Yediyurappa was chosen as the consensus candidate for the presidency of the BJP Karnataka state unit.[5] BJP contested 119 seats in the 1989 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, winning four seats and obtaining 4.13% of the votes cast across the state.[7]

BJP obtained 28.8% of the votes in Karnataka in the 1991 Indian general election.[8] This result marked a sharp increase from the 2.5% of the votes that the party had received in the 1989 Indian general election in Karnataka.[9] This time BJP had contested all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, winning four.[10] The growth of BJP vote in Karnataka was partially due to the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign and the nationalist discourse of the party.[10]

BJP fielded 223 candidates in the 1994 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election.[7] Ahead of the election the party state unit published a 41-page manifesto, seeking to portray a pragmatic and populist approach of the party with a focus on socio-economic issues rather than communalist discourse.[11] After the 1994 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, BJP held the role as Leader of Opposition in the assembly for a brief period.[8] The electoral result had an important symbolic meaning for the BJP, who had begun to see Karnataka as its 'gateway' into south India.[9]

By the late 1990s, Karnataka was the sole state in southern India where BJP wasn't a marginal political phenomenon.[11][12] During this period, the anti-reservation stance of BJP in response to the Mandal Commission had attracted support among higher castes in Karnataka, rather than Hindutva nationalism per se.[11] The 1999 split in the Janata Dal offered the BJP the possibility to do inroads among Lingayat voters.[4] However, as of the late 1990s the BJP Karnataka state organization remained weak, with the strength of the party concentrated in urban pockets and a few rural pockets (Coorg and the two coastal districts).[8] In the 1998 Lok Sabha parliamentary election, BJP increased its number of seats in Karnataka from six to 13.[13][14] BJP had contested the election in coalition with Lok Shakti, through which BJP had contested 18 seats and Lok Shakti 10 seats.[15][14] With Lok Shakti's Hegde campaigning for the BJP, the party was somewhat able to portray a more moderate image and tone down its Hindutva profile.[14]

Just before the 1999 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, the BJP national leadership forced its Karnataka branch into an alliance with the then governing Janata Dal (United).[8][16] Thus the party could not benefit from the anti-incumbency wave against the Janata Dal cabinet.[8] The tie-up with the Janata Dal (United) was unpopular among BJP workers in the state.[17] Following the 1999 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election the party obtained the Leader of Opposition role again.[8]

The more significant breakthrough of BJP as a major actor in Karnataka state politics came in 2004.[8] In the 2004 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, the party won 71 out of 224 seats.[4] Whilst BJP remained organizationally weak in rural Karnataka, it managed to increase its share of vote by attracting Lingayat voters from parts of northern Karnataka.[8][4] In the 2004 Lok Sabha parliamentary election, BJP won 18 seats from Karnataka.[4] BJP had become the largest party in the state assembly, but could not form a government as the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress Party formed a coalition.[8] The JD(S)-Congress coalition, however, suffered internal strife and in 2006 H.D Kumarswami struck a deal with BJP which stipulated that the post of Chief Minister would be given to BJP after a 20-month period.[4] In 2007, when the 20 months had passed, H.D Kumarswami opted to retain the position, sparking outcry and a wave of sympathy towards BJP and B. S. Yediyurappa.[4][18]

The strength of BJP in Karnataka state politics increased significantly between October 2007 and April 2009.[4] Ahead of the 2008 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, BJP had emerged as the sole viable alternative to the Janata Dal (S) and the Congress Party in Karnataka state politics.[17] Following the formation of the BJP state government in 2008, there was a wave of attacks on Christian churches in Karnataka.[19] The National Commission for Minorities denounced the BJP state governments for inaction in preventing the attacks.[19] Under pressure from the central government, the BJP state government arrested a number of Shri Ram Sena leaders.[19]

In the 2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, the BJP fell to third place in the state behind the Indian National Congress and Janata Dal (Secular). While the INC won a majority in the Legislative Assembly with 122 seats, the BJP fell to 40 seats.

The decision of the Congress state government to grant minority status to the Lingayats prompted the RSS (a move seen by RSS as "an attempt to divide the Hindus") to take a more active role in supporting the BJP in the 2018 state elections.[20] RSS brought in senior leaders from across the country for the state election campaign.[20] Reportedly some 50,000 RSS cadres campaigned for BJP, as well as some 3,000 Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal cadres.[20] RSS mobilization for BJP in the electoral campaign was particularly strong in the coastal districts (a stronghold of RSS, but also an area with sizable Christian and Muslim populations).[20]

Support base

For many years, the BJP support base was mainly Brahmin & Jains but in 1990's it expanded to include more Lingayats (as well as some Vokkaligas).[7][17] Most of the party state leadership is either Lingayat or Brahmin.[17] By the 2000s, the party had sought support among other communities, such as the OBCs, Dalits and Vokkaligas, utilizing Hindutva as mobilizing factor (albeit with limited success).[17] The party has a strong support base in the coastal regions of the state ( especially Udupi and Dakshina Kannada).The party has consistently maintained support in the urban centres of Karnataka.[21]

Electoral history

Legislative Assembly elections

Year Seats won +/- Voteshare (%) +/- (%) Outcome
1983
18 / 224
 Increase 18 7.93% – Outside support for JP
1985
2 / 224
 Decrease 16 3.88% Decrease 4.05% Opposition
1989
4 / 224
 Increase 2 4.14% Increase 0.26% Opposition
1994
40 / 224
 Increase 36 16.99% Increase 12.85% Opposition
1999
44 / 224
 Increase 4 20.69% Increase 3.70% Opposition
2004
79 / 224
 Increase 35 28.33% Increase 7.64% Opposition,
later Government
2008
110 / 224
 Increase 31 33.86% Increase 5.53% Government
2013
40 / 224
 Decrease 70 19.89% Decrease 13.97% Opposition
2018
104 / 224
 Increase 64 36.22% Increase 16.33% Opposition,
later Government
2023
66 / 224
 Decrease 38 36.00% Decrease 0.22% Opposition

Lok Sabha elections

Year Seats won +/-
1984
0 / 28
 Steady
1989
0 / 28
 Steady
1991
4 / 28
 Increase 4
1996
6 / 28
 Increase 2
1998
13 / 28
 Increase 7
1999
7 / 28
 Decrease 6
2004
18 / 28
 Increase 11
2009
19 / 28
 Increase 1
2014
17 / 28
 Decrease 2
2019
25 / 28
 Increase 8

Leadership

S. Mallikarjunaiah was the vice president of the BJP Karnataka state unit between 1980 and 1986.[22] He again held the post as BJP Karnataka state unit vice president 1990–1991.[22]

Nalin Kumar Kateel was appointed as the president of the Karnataka state unit of BJP on August 20, 2019.[23] Reportedly the outgoing president B. S. Yediyurappa had favoured Arvind Limbavali for the post, but the National General Secretary (Organisation) of the party B.L. Santosh had favoured Kateel due to his credentials as a RSS loyalist.[23] Soon after taking over as state unit president Kateel named Bhanuprakash and Nirmal Kumar Surana as Vice Presidents of the BJP state unit.[24] The two leaders, seen as part of the 'old guard' of the party, had been ousted from the state leadership in 2016.[24]

List of chief ministers

No Portrait Name Constituency Term of office Assembly
1 B. S. Yediyurappa Shikaripura 12 November 2007 19 November 2007 7 days 12th
30 May 2008 4 August 2011 3 years, 66 days 13th
2 D. V. Sadananda Gowda MLC 5 August 2011 11 July 2012 341 days
3 Jagadish Shettar Hubli-Dharwad Central 12 July 2012 12 May 2013 304 days
(1) B. S. Yediyurappa Shikaripura 17 May 2018 23 May 2018 6 days 15th
26 July 2019 28 July 2021 2 years, 2 days
(total 5 years, 81 days)
4 Basavaraj Bommai Shiggaon 28 July 2021 15 May 2023 1 year, 291 days

List of deputy chief ministers

No Portrait Name Constituency Term of office Chief Minister
1 B. S. Yediyurappa Shikaripura 3 February 2006 8 October 2007 1 year, 247 days H. D. Kumaraswamy
2 K. S. Eshwarappa Shimoga 12 July 2012 12 May 2013 304 days Jagadish Shettar
R. Ashoka Padmanaba Nagar
3 C. N. Ashwath Narayan Malleshwaram 20 August 2019 26 July 2021 1 year, 340 days B. S. Yediyurappa
Laxman Savadi MLC
Govind Karjol Mudhole

Opposition leaders in Legislative Assembly

No Portrait Name Constituency Term of office Assembly Chief Minister
1 B. S. Yediyurappa Shikaripura 27 December 1994 18 December 1996 1 year, 357 days 10th H. D. Deve Gowda
J. H. Patel
2 Jagadish Shettar Hubli-Dharwad Central 26 October 1999 23 February 2004 4 years, 120 days 11th S. M. Krishna
(1) B. S. Yediyurappa Shikaripura 9 June 2004 2 February 2006 1 year, 238 days 12th Dharam Singh
(2) Jagadish Shettar Hubli-Dharwad Central 23 January 2014 17 May 2018 4 years, 120 days 14th Siddaramaiah
(1) B. S. Yediyurappa Shikaripura 25 May 2018 26 July 2019 1 year, 62 days 15th H. D. Kumaraswamy
Interim Basavaraj Bommai Shiggaon 4 July 2023 17 November 2023 136 days
3 R. Ashoka Padmanaba Nagar 17 November 2023 incumbent 60 days 16th Siddaramaiah

Opposition leaders in Legislative Council

No Portrait Name Term of office Chief Minister
1 D. H. Shankaramurthy 8 July 2002 16 June 2004 3 years, 138 days S. M. Krishna
16 June 2004 23 November 2005 Dharam Singh
2 D. V. Sadananda Gowda 17 May 2013 24 May 2014 1 year, 7 days Siddaramaiah
3 K. S. Eshwarappa 13 July 2014 17 May 2018 3 years, 308 days
4 Kota Srinivas Poojary 2 July 2018 26 July 2019 1 year, 24 days H. D. Kumaraswamy
25 December 2023 present 22 days Siddaramaiah

List of presidents

No Name Period
1 A.K.Subbaiah 1980 1983 3 years
2 B. B. Shivappa 1983 1988 5 years
3 B. S. Yediyurappa 1988 1991 3 years
4 K.S. Eshwarappa 1993 1998 5 years
(3) B. S. Yediyurappa 1998 1999 1 year
5 Basavaraj Patil Sedam 2000 2003 3 years
6 Ananth Kumar 2003 2004 1 year
7 Jagadish Shettar 2004 2006 2 years
8 D. V. Sadananda Gowda 2006 2010 4 years
(4) K. S. Eshwarappa 28-Jan-2010 21-Mar-2013 3 years, 52 days
9 Pralhad Joshi 21-Mar-2013 8-Apr-2016 3 years, 18 days
(3) B. S. Yediyurappa 8-Apr-2016 20-Aug-2019 3 years, 134 days
10 Nalin Kumar Kateel 20-Aug-2019 10-Nov-2023 4 years, 82 days
11 B. Y. Vijayendra 10-Nov-2023 present 67 days

See also

References

  1. ↑ "List of Chief Ministers of Karnataka & Their Service Periods – Oneindia". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pratap Chandra Swain (2001). Bharatiya Janata Party: Profile and Performance. APH Publishing. pp. 194, 199, 207. ISBN 978-81-7648-257-8.
  3. ↑ Robert L. Hardgrave (13 March 2019). India Under Pressure: Prospects For Political Stability. Taylor & Francis. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-429-71661-4.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Paul Wallace; Ramashray Roy (5 May 2011). India's 2009 Elections: Coalition Politics, Party Competition and Congress Continuity. SAGE Publications. pp. 270, 272–273, 282. ISBN 978-81-321-0774-3.
  5. 1 2 Business Standard Political Profiles of Cabals and Kings. Business Standard Books. 2009. p. 188. ISBN 978-81-905735-4-2.
  6. ↑ Ravi Bhushan (2003). Reference India: Biographical Notes about Men & Women of Achievement of Today & Tomorrow. Rifacimento International. p. 59.
  7. 1 2 3 Harish Ramaswamy (2007). Karnataka Government and Politics. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 241, 254, 260. ISBN 978-81-8069-397-7.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Katharine Adeney; Lawrence Saez (11 April 2007). Coalition Politics and Hindu Nationalism. Routledge. pp. 92–94. ISBN 978-1-134-23978-8.
  9. 1 2 Partha Sarathy Ghosh (1 January 1999). BJP and the Evolution of Hindu Nationalism: From Periphery to Centre. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 111. ISBN 978-81-7304-253-9.
  10. 1 2 Sumantra Bose (16 September 2013). Transforming India. Harvard University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-674-72819-6.
  11. 1 2 3 Christophe Jaffrelot (1999). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics: 1925 to the 1990s : Strategies of Identity-building, Implantation and Mobilisation (with Special Reference to Central India). Penguin Books India. pp. 439, 444–445, 539, 542. ISBN 978-0-14-024602-5.
  12. ↑ Thomas Blom Hansen; Christophe Jaffrelot (4 June 2001). The BJP and the compulsions of politics in India. Oxford University Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-19-565614-5.
  13. ↑ Ananth V. Krishna (September 2011). India Since Independence: Making Sense Of Indian Politics. Pearson Education India. p. 409. ISBN 978-81-317-3465-0.
  14. 1 2 3 M. L. Ahuja (1998). Electoral Politics and General Elections in India, 1952-1998. Mittal Publications. p. 107. ISBN 978-81-7099-711-5.
  15. ↑ University of Madras (2003). Electoral politics and nation building in South Indian states. University of Madras. p. 157.
  16. ↑ Wendy Doniger; Martha C. Nussbaum (9 February 2015). Pluralism and Democracy in India: Debating the Hindu Right. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-19-938093-0.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Gopal K. Kadekodi; S. M. Ravi Kanbur; Vijayendra Rao (2008). Development in Karnataka: Challenges of Governance, Equity, and Empowerment. Academic Foundation. pp. 48–49, 98. ISBN 978-81-7188-619-7.
  18. ↑ Kanta Murali (2 February 2017). Caste, Class and Capital. Cambridge University Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-1-107-15450-6.
  19. 1 2 3 Amrita Basu (30 June 2015). Violent Conjunctures in Democratic India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 49, 108. ISBN 978-1-107-08963-1.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Walter Andersen; Shridhar D. Damle (15 June 2019). Messengers of Hindu Nationalism: How the RSS Reshaped India. Hurst. p. 398. ISBN 978-1-78738-288-6.
  21. ↑ Kadekodi, Gopal K.; Kanbur, S. M. Ravi; Rao, Vijayendra (2008). Development in Karnataka: Challenges of Governance, Equity, and Empowerment. Academic Foundation. ISBN 978-81-7188-619-7.
  22. 1 2 H. D. Singh (1996). 543 faces of India: guide to 543 parliamentary constituencies. Newmen Publishers. p. 129.
  23. 1 2 Deccan Herald. Nalin Kumar Kateel new BJP state president
  24. 1 2 The Hindu. Two old guards back as BJP Karnataka unit vice-presidents

Works cited

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