'Form teams of leaders to woo back disgruntled castes in Kalyana Karnataka region': Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday reportedly asked BJP leaders, including state party chief B Y Vijayendra, to take corrective measures to strengthen the party in Kalyana Karnataka region, where it lost all five Lok Sabha seats.

A senior functionary told DH that Gadkari asked Vijayendra to form teams of caste- based leaders to engage with disgruntled communities of Kalyana Karnataka region and work in tandem with local leaders of these communities to win back their confidence ahead of polls to local bodies.

‘Failed to woo Dalits’

Vijayendra reportedly told Gadkari that the BJP could retain the majority community’s (Lingayats’) confidence in the region, but failed to woo the lower castes - OBCs, microscopic OBCs and a large section of the Dalits. 

These communities supported the Congress due to the implementation of the guarantee schemes and because of the fact that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge hails from the region.

After the meeting, C T Ravi, a member of the core committee, told reporters that the party had decided to fight the ruling Congress on issues like price rise, MUDA scam and Valmiki ST Development Board scam inside and outside the legislature.