Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra on Friday, 26 June visited the pilgrimage centre of Dharmasthala and categorically denied any personal or business connection with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, as the cross-voting controversy from the recently concluded Karnataka Legislative Council elections continued to roil the state's political landscape. Vijayendra also rejected allegations that he had orchestrated or encouraged cross-voting within the party.

Vijayendra's Denial at Dharmasthala

Speaking to reporters after offering special prayers at the Dharmasthala temple, Vijayendra said, 'There are no business links between Vijayendra and CM Shivakumar. There is no closeness either. I have given the respect due to him as the KPCC President and as the Chief Minister of the state. I am repeatedly clarifying that there is no connection.'

He added that standing at the sacred site, he wanted it on record that rumours about business dealings and alleged closeness between himself and Shivakumar had been deliberately spread after the cross-voting episode. 'Social media discussions even claimed that I had engineered the cross-voting. I know that some of our own people are behind this campaign,' he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then BJP National President Amit Shah had entrusted him with the state president's role, and that he could 'never stoop to such a level.'

Congress Blamed for Floating MLA Names

Vijayendra alleged that the Indian National Congress was deliberately circulating the names of BJP legislators in connection with cross-voting to sow suspicion among party workers and the public. 'A situation has been created where our MLAs are being viewed with suspicion by the people in their constituencies,' he said, addressing the party's 63 MLAs directly.

He maintained that those who had betrayed the party were under close watch by the national leadership, and that 'the truth will come out one day.' He also stated he had not yet reviewed the cross-voting report submitted by the fact-finding committee headed by BJP MLC C.T. Ravi.

Expelled MLA Somashekar and Internal Differences

Vijayendra alleged that expelled BJP MLA S.T. Somashekar had been in contact with three BJP legislators. He declined to directly address earlier allegations he had made against Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, saying only that 'the truth will come out.' Somashekar had separately claimed that internal differences between Vijayendra and Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka also contributed to the cross-voting.

Former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Vijayendra noted, had called him only after the cross-voting controversy erupted and had not provided any specific prior information to the party.

Council Election Results and Emotional Response

Vijayendra explained that the BJP had fielded senior leader Lingaraj Patil, who had served the party for nearly four decades, and OBC Morcha President Raghu Kautilya from the Madivala community in the Council elections. Raghu Kautilya secured 29 votes and Lingaraj Patil received 27 votes, with both winning. However, the cross-voting caused what he described as 'immense pain' to party workers statewide.

'I am an emotional person, and I expressed what came to my mind,' he said, recalling that he had initially proposed holding a BJP Legislative Party meeting at Dharmasthala where MLAs would take an oath. Senior party leaders, he said, advised that the matter be referred to the party high command instead, and he respected that counsel.

Eshwarappa Criticism and 2019 Parallel

Responding to criticism from former Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, Vijayendra invoked the events of 2019, when 17 MLAs resigned from the then Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government and joined the BJP, enabling the party to come to power under former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. In the subsequent by-elections, 15 of those MLAs won. Vijayendra said Eshwarappa himself had served as Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister as a result of that transition, and appeared to have 'forgotten' that context.

Vijayendra concluded by reaffirming his commitment to spending the next two years strengthening the party organisation, promising to tour the state and mount sustained public campaigns against what he called an 'anti-poor and anti-people' Congress government. How the BJP's national leadership handles the fact-finding committee's report will likely determine whether the cross-voting fallout escalates further or is quietly contained.