BENGALURU: A day after the state BJP 's Nava Karnataka Parivarthana Yatra garnered a lukewarm response, embarrassed party members on Friday started a blame game, holding three leaders accountable for the poor show.

According to party sources, national BJP president Amit Shah , who flagged off the yatra before leaving for New Delhi, took leaders to task seeking the reasons for the poor turnout.“Is this all the bikes and people you could muster,“ he is reported to have asked them.

In response, a senior BJP leader told Shah that several party workers were stuck in traffic and could not reach the venue. However, he didn't seem to be convinced. “We expect a major surgery , in fact a multiorgan surgery , to be done by Shah for the low turnout,“ a source said.

Sources said the yatra was billed as the biggest such event held by the party so far in the country . “Everyone in the party was working at cross purposes.But we didn't know it would reach such an extent where the national president's image would be hurt with a poor response,“ they added.

Members point fingers at Ashoka, DVS, Karandlaje Three Vokkaliga leaders who claim to be the community's representatives in the BJP -former home minister R Ashoka, Bangalore North MP and Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda and Udupi-Chikkamagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje -are being blamed.

While Karandlaje was reportedly given the responsibility of the entire yatra, Ashoka was asked to handle the arrangements and show of strength in Bengaluru. Gowda was asked to oversee the process as the event was happening in his parliamentary constituency . “The writing was on the wall as soon as the low turnout was witnessed. The event was completely mismanaged by Ashoka,“ a party leader said.“The yatra inauguration was supposed to be a team effort.However, the oneupmanship of the leader led to utter chaos,“ said a source. Shah has reportedly sought a written explanation from Gowda over the yatra's failure.However, Gowda denied it, saying, “No such explanation has been sought by the national president. However, party workers claim the lack of trust in the Bengaluru-based BJP leadership caused the entire fiasco,“ Gowda claimed.

As for Karandlaje, BJP sources claimed she will also face the music from the national leadership for being unable to lead from the front.

Meanwhile, party general secretary Arvind Limbavali said the numbers were not low at the inaugural function as the BJP has estimated nearly 58,000 bikes were mobilized from across districts to attend the event.

