Tickets not decided in kitchen: BJP leaders swipe at Yediyurappa and son

The internal rift in the BJP comes ahead of the Karnataka polls as a tussle is currently going on for tickets to the election.

BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi on Tuesday objected to BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's announcement that his son BY Vijayendra will be contesting from Shikaripur in the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka.

The veteran BJP leader said that the decisions are not taken in the kitchen and that a ticket cannot be given just because he is Yediyurappa's son.

"It's not about (BY) Vijayendra...I said that in BJP, Parliamentary Board makes decisions about tickets. Decisions aren't taken in kitchen cabinet. Where does JD(S) make such decisions? In family kitchen. That's not how it is done in our party," CT Ravi said.

"One can't convince the entire party and the entire government and get themselves a ticket. Like how Indira Gandhi's son Rajiv Gandhi became the PM, that kind of opportunity won't happen here. All I can say is the decision to give tickets does not take place in the family," he added.

The statement comes ahead of the Karnataka polls as lobbying on for tickets to the election. The national leadership of BJP is banking on BS Yediyurappa, for the poll campaigns.

Recently, Yediyurappa had said that his younger son Vijayendra will be contesting the 2023 polls from Shikarpura assembly constituency after his retirement from electoral politics.

Vijayendra, Yediyurappa's younger son, is considered as the former Chief Minister's political heir apparent. His elder son B Y Raghavendra is the Member of Parliament from Shivamogga.

The tenure of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly would come to an end on May 24, and the polls are scheduled to be held before May 2023.

In 2018 elections, an alliance of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress, formed the government with H. D. Kumaraswamy becoming the Chief Minister.

Later, in a dramatic turn of events, the government collapsed. Following this, BJP formed its government with BS Yediyurappa as Chief Minister.

However, he resigned on July 26, 2021, and Basavaraj Bommai took charge as Chief Minister on July 28, 2021.