New Delhi/Bengaluru, DHNS: The BJP central leadership has snubbed its Karnataka unit chief B S Yeddyurappa by dropping his close associates, including MP Shobha Karandlaje, from a list he proposed for restructuring the highest decision making body - the state core committee.

Out of 22 members’ list sent by Yeddyurappa for approval recently, the party’s central leadership pruned it to 12, all men, and retained only two prominent leaders - C M Udasi and Arvind Limbavali - from the Yeddyurappa camp.

Besides Udupi-Chikmagaluru MP Karandlaje, state general secretary N Ravi Kumar, senior leaders B J Puttaswamy, Basavaraj Bommai and C?H Vijayshankar were among other Yeddyurappa followers axed from the list. Karandlaje is a general secretary of the party’s state unit. She was appointed after Yeddyurappa became the state president.

Ravi Kumar, before moving to the BJP, was an ABVP?activist, who is close to Yeddyurappa.

The names approved for the state core committee are: B S Yeddyurappa, Union ministers Ananth Kumar and D V Sadananda Gowda, MLAs Jagadish Shettar, R Ashok, C T Ravi, Arvind Limbavali and Govind Karjol, MLC K S Eshwarappa, Dharwad MP?Pralhad Joshi, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, and former minister C M Udasi.

National General Secretary (Organisation) Ram Lal, National Joint General Secretary (Organisation) Santosh, Karnataka in-charge General Secretary Muralidar Rao and State General Secretary (Organisation) B P Arun Kumar will be permanent invitees to the meeting.

The state core committee is supposed to hold its meeting at least once a month and if needed more, said Arun Singh, National General Secretary (headquarters) in-charge Arun Singh, who released the list.

The recent appointment of state office-bearers and presidents of district units has triggered discontent against Yeddyurappa, with several party functionaries under the leadership of Eshwarappa openly questioning the Lingayat leader's “unilateral” decisions bypassing the core committee.

They also accused Karandlaje of high-handedness in making appointments, which she refuted.

Eshwarappa had held meetings of like-minded leaders recently. He also met party top brass in Delhi and complained against Yeddyurappa, the "high-handedness" of his loyalists in party affairs and prominence given to those from his now defunct organisation Karnataka Janata Party. His grouse is that he has not been appointed president of the Shivamogga unit of the party. Instead, Yeddyurappa chose Rudre Gowda, who contested as the KJP nominee in the last assembly polls.