Bengaluru, May 20 (KMS&BCT)- In a strongly-worded message to quell dissident activities within the Karnataka BJP, the Party National  President Amit Shah has asked the dissident leaders if there were any leaders bigger and capable than BJP State President B.S. Yeddyurappa (BSY), who could steer the party to victory in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Amit Shah has asked Yeddyurappa’s critics, led by Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa, to either suggest a name of a mass leader who can overtake Yeddyurappa or stop criticising him (Yeddyurappa). “Mend your ways for the interests of the party,” he told the rebel leaders, sources said.

According to party sources, Amit Shah’s warning has hit the rebels hard and they are now showing unity in the party. “This warning has made rebel leaders to bury the differences and sport a united front and jointly go on a drought analysis across the State. Even Yeddyurappa has softened his stand and has allowed supporters of RSS National Organising Secretary Santhosh to work in the party office,” said sources.

Sources said that Shah has lost patience with the open war within the BJP in a State where the party wants to win the Assembly elections in 2018 and bag most of the Lok Sabha seats a year later. He has told the State BJP that they must end the raging war for the BJP to be able to overtake Congress in 2018.

Yeddyurappa is BJP’s Chief- Minister-in-waiting in Karnataka and Eshwarappa appears to have reconciled to the party projecting his rival as the Chief Ministerial candidate. His grouse is that after Yeddyurappa became the State BJP chief in April 2016, he became “arrogant” and ignored his supporters while filling up party posts.

Amit Shah has told the rebels that the Party High Command had conducted a survey a year back in Karnataka where it was found that the BJP would easily bag 150 seats under Yeddyurappa’s leadership. “It is on this basis that the High Command arrived at ‘Mission 150’ and it was not just based on Yeddyurappa’s claims,” Shah reportedly told the State BJP leaders.

He further told them that due to the open fight between Eshwarappa and Yeddyurappa, the party’s prospects had now declined to 80 or  90 seats as shown in the latest survey.

“The Party High Command has commissioned three surveys in one year and the results have not changed and this is due to the infighting in the party. People are fed up with the differences in the party and that will reflect in the 2018 results,” Shah reportedly told the State leaders.

Shah has also said that he would visit Karnataka in the first week of August and speak to Eshwarappa and Yeddyurappa. He has also warned them that action will be taken against dissidents, sources added.