What Yogeshwar departure from BJP tells us about NDA faultlines

Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar (right) welcomes new inductee CP Yogeshwar into the party at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office in Bengaluru.

- Maqsood Myar

Five-time MLA CP Yogeshwar leaving the BJP and joining the Congress to contest as their Channapatna by-election candidate has laid bare an uncomfortable truth for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners.

Yogeshwar spoke frankly during his introductory press conference with the Congress when he claimed the JD(S) was "trampling BJP's Vokkaliga leaders".

This is how the saffron party's Vokkaliga functionaries in the Old Mysuru region heartland feel, but won't say it in public.

Yogeshwar resigned as MLC early in the week, quit the BJP and then switched parties because he was denied the Channapatna ticket.

JD(S) wary of ceding space

The JD(S) insists BJP was treating them like a junior partner by trying to deny them Channapatna, a seat they won twice in a row. Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy wrested the seat from Yogeshwar in 2018 and retained it in 2023.