Bengaluru: BJP finally expelled senior legislator and Hindutva hardliner Basanagouda Patil Yatnal from the party for six years, citing repeated instances of indiscipline in the form of verbal attacks on party veteran B S Yediyurappa and his son and Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra.
The decision was announced on Wednesday by the party’s central disciplinary committee.
Reacting strongly to his expulsion, Yatnal accused “vested interests” of orchestrating his removal. “The party has rewarded me for ‘calling a spade, a spade’. Certain vested interests have played their part in furthering their agenda successfully,” he posted on social media.
“The decision to expel me will not deter my fight against corruption, family politics, and [for] the development of North Karnataka, and Hindutva,” the post further said.
With the axe coming down on Yatnal, it will be interesting to see what stance his core supporters within the party now adopt, including MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi and B P Harish, former MLA Kumar Bangarappa, and former union minister GM Siddeshwar.
Yatnal, who had served as Union minister under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was formally informed of his expulsion through a letter signed by Om Pathak, secretary of the BJP disciplinary panel. “The Committee has considered your response to the show-cause notice dated Feb 10 and has taken serious note of your repeated violations of party discipline, despite your assurances of good behaviour and conduct,” the letter stated.
Following Yatnal’s expulsion, Vijayendra took to X to justify the decision. “The decision to expel Yatnal is an inevitable step, taken after careful observation by senior leaders.”
The BJP disciplinary committee also issued show-cause notices to five other netas — S T Somashekar, Shivram Hebbar, Katta Subramanya Naidu, MP Renukacharya, and BP Harish — for violating party discipline. They have been directed to respond within 72 hours.
Despite receiving a show-cause notice last month, Yatnal, 60, a Panchamasali lingayat leader, remained defiant, continuing with his diatribe against Vijayendra and, by extension, Yediyurappa.
This is the third occasion that Yatnal has been expelled from BJP in the last one-and-a-half decade. He was first expelled in 2010 for his candid views, leading him to join the Janata Dal (Secular), before rejoining BJP in 2013.
He was expelled again in 2015 after contesting the legislative council election as a rebel candidate, but was reinducted in 2018 at Yediyurappa’s behest. His hardline stance earned him the moniker ‘Hindu Tiger’ in North Karnataka, where he is popular.
Yatnal’s differences with the party deepened after Vijayendra was appointed Karnataka BJP president, six months after the party’s 2023 election defeat. He had even criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 over delays in releasing funds for central flood relief for Karnataka, an act that had led to a show-cause notice.
Never a stranger to courting controversy, Yatnal recently made a crude comment about Kannada actor Ranya Rao, who was arrested in a gold smuggling case in Bengaluru. Following his remarks, an FIR was filed against Yatnal.
Previously, taking a jibe at Yediyurappa, he had asked the veteran politician to abandon his “infatuation” for his son and instead focus on the party. He had also accused Vijayendra of maintaining close ties with Karnataka Congress chief and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar and chief minister Siddaramaiah, dubbing it “adjustment politics”.
Yatnal’s vitriol against the party brass often didn’t go down well with the rank and file. In Dec 2024, 32 district presidents had petitioned the BJP’s central leadership to take disciplinary action against him for his repeated public criticism of Vijayendra.