After cross-voting, Sadananda Gowda clip, leadership speculation expose BJP rift

4 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jul 1, 2026 07:23 PM IST

Soon after the audio went viral, former Karnataka CM Sadananda Gowda denied that it was his voice.(Photo/Facebook/@DVSBJP)

Several developments over the past couple of weeks have put the Karnataka BJP in a spot of bother. While cross-voting in the MLC polls revealed internal feuding, a public spat between MP K Sudhakar and MLA S R Vishwanath, and a leaked audio clip attributed to former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda have added to the party’s troubles in the state.

On Tuesday, BJP MLA H K Suresh was at Dharmasthala, the temple town where the party had decided to hold a legislature party meeting to expose the cross-voters. Although the meeting was called off, the Belur MLA visited the temple to dismiss speculations that he was among the cross-voters.

Speaking to reporters, Suresh requested the party to conduct narco-analysis on the MLAs to bring out the truth. “I will volunteer first for the test,” he said. His visit came days after a three-member committee under BJP MLC C T Ravi submitted a report on the MLC polls incident to state BJP president B Y Vijayendra.

However, the report has not done anything to quell the suspicion cast on the BJP MLAs, party insiders said. The report contains a list of “suspects” but does not pinpoint MLAs who defied the party diktat.

Sadanand Gowda’s ‘kick him out’ clip

A purported audio clip of Gowda was leaked to the media earlier this week, further exposing the factionalism, which has been a defining part of the state BJP for more than a decade.

In the clip, Gowda is heard suggesting that a national leader “kick out” Vijayendra once completed his three-year term. “If you do it now, his team will raise objections,” the former chief minister said, adding that if the state BJP president was “replaced by a good man, everything will go smoothly”. Soon after the audio went viral, Gowda denied that it was his voice in the clip.

There are also speculations that the cross-voting was engineered from within to put the state BJP president on the backfoot. A section of party legislators has been opposed to Vijayendra, son of BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa, ever since he was appointed party president.

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Former minister Kumar Bangarappa and MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, whom the party has expelled, have repeatedly sought Vijayendra’s ouster, while Yediyurappa loyalists have stood firmly behind the state president.

Another issue that hit headlines was a public spat between Sudhakar and Vishwanath over holding parallel Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations. Though the two were quick to bury the hatchet, the episode further sullied the party’s image.

V Somanna next state BJP chief?

BJP circles suggest these incidents signal changes in the party as it gears up for the 2028 Assembly polls. Though Yediyurappa is said to be keen on having his son continue as the BJP president, several senior leaders in the party are learnt to have suggested changes in the state unit.

“Since a Central Cabinet reshuffle is likely, a senior leader like Union minister Pralhad Joshi or Union Minister of State V Somanna could be dropped and sent to helm the state BJP unit and set it in order,” a source said. However, there are fears that the appointment of Joshi, who hails from the Brahmin community, as BJP state president by replacing Vijayendra, a Lingayat, might not sit well with the party’s core voter base.

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As a result, Somanna has also emerged as a frontrunner for the post. Responding to a question about him being considered for the BJP state president’s post, Somanna said he was a disciplined worker of the party. “I will do what the party national leadership asks me to,” he said.