Amidst campaigning for the bypolls, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, BJP MLA, yet again forecast leadership change in Karnataka and said it was necessary if “the party has to survive in the State.”

Speaking at Vijayapura, he predicted it would happen after the polls. “The party high command wants to change Chief Ministers in three States, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and Haryana, of which one has already been done and the other two will be changed post the Assembly polls in some States,” he claimed.

The BJP serving a show cause notice as to why disciplinary action must not be taken against him and being snubbed by party in charge Arun Singh publicly several times seems to have had little impact on Mr. Yatnal, a constant critic of Mr. Yediyurappa.

“The high command knows that the leadership has to be changed if the party has to survive in the State. Even Mr. Singh knows this is imminent, but has been denying it on public forums,” he said. Mr. Singh publicly snubbed Mr. Yatnal last week saying he need not be taken seriously.

The delay in high command taking disciplinary action against Mr. Yatnal has irked the Chief Minister’s camp no end, especially since the notice has done little to silence his public criticism.

‘Congress agent’

On Sunday, Chief Minister’s political secretary M.P. Renukacharya hit back at Mr. Yatnal calling him a “Congress agent” and said a group of MLAs are scheduled to meet on Monday to give Mr. Yatnal a fitting reply. “Mr. Yatnal is deliberately creating confusion amidst the bypoll campaign, even after the high command made it clear that there will be no change of leadership,” he said, demanding the party expel him for his “anti-party activities.”

A senior BJP legislator said it was surprising how Mr. Yatnal seemed unaffected by the party’s notice on disciplinary action. “He replied to that notice with more damning allegations against the Chief Minister and his son. Since then he has identified himself with the Panchamasali agitation and embarrassed the party by criticising the government and the Chief Minister even on the floor of the House,” the leader said, wondering what the high command’s silence meant.