Mangaluru
The attempt to bring back Hindu organiser Arun Kumar Putthila to the BJP, who contested as an independent in Puttur and pushed the BJP to the third position and attracted the attention of the entire state, seems to have been partially abandoned. Sources said that the BJP leaders have decided to close the door of negotiations in view of the failure of all efforts to bring Arun Kumar Puttila into the BJP camp for the past five months.
Arun Kumar Puttila, who was earlier working actively for the BJP, stayed away from the party due to various reasons. Although he contested the assembly elections as a non-partisan and did not win, he got the highest number of votes and came second. Later, in two Gram Panchayat by-elections, he fielded candidates in the name of Puttila Parivar and taunted the BJP. Later, in the governing board elections of cooperative banks, Puttila Parivar was also admitted in more than two societies by aligning with BJP. This match was said to be the prelude of Puttila Parivar to join the BJP. Amidst all this, there has been a lot of effort to mend the rift between Puttila Parivar and the BJP. State level leaders of BJP and Sangh Parivar also held talks with Arun Kumar Puttila many times for settlement. As the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have made a concerted effort to defuse the Arun Kumar Puttila crisis. Arun Kumar Putthila had been in talks to give the post of BJP mandal president along with Puttur city and rural areas. But at the last minute the negotiations broke down. Finally, the BJP leaders responded negatively to Arun Kumar Puttila’s demand for the district president or a higher position.
