Bengaluru: The BJP think-tank is on a silent headhunt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah are scouting for a potential CEO for Karnataka, to be groomed to lead the charge in the 2018 assembly elections. The emerging profile is that of a young, clean leader: A fresh, credible face in the 40s to mid-50s age bracket, bred in the RSS-BJP stables, educated and with a blemish-free political record, in the mould of a Devendra Fadnavis or a Manohar Parrikar. The exercise began quietly, with Modi reportedly sounding out some BJP insiders in Karnataka for this talent search. It will acquire sharper focus in January when master poll strategist Shah, Maharashtra and Haryana under his belt, gives his mind share to Karnataka and Delhi, which the party is determined to wrest.

“Karnataka and West Bengal are on the BJP leadership’s radar now as states where its performance will have a cascading effect in neighbouring southern states and the northeast,’’ a senior BJP leader said. With age and a good track record as top criteria, party functionaries are hopeful a dark horse will emerge from the districts, as it happened with Fadnavis in Maharashtra. “The central leadership is looking beyond BS Yeddyurappa, KS Eshwarappa, HN Ananth Kumar, Jagadish Shettar, DV Sadananda Gowda, R Ashoka or S Suresh Kumar as probable CM candidates in the 2018 assembly polls. The polls are linked to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, with the BJP banking on Karnataka to shore up its numbers. The party is bound to lose some seats in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and these losses have to be made up by states like Karnataka,’’ sources said.

The central leadership -- Modi and Shah, effectively -- reportedly feels that all seniors carry some form of baggage. Suresh Kumar, it is felt, is too rigid, while the former CMs and deputy CMs are embroiled in court cases or controversies. With Karnataka politics driven by caste, the BJP – until now synonymous with the Lingayats for the 2008 backing – is now open to a candidate from the Vokkaligas, the other dominant caste, and others too. Here again, a parallel has been drawn that Fadnavis is a Brahmin, the caste which constitutes 3.5% of Maharashtra’s population. Sources say names being discussed in closed circles include CT Ravi, the 44-year-old Vokkaliga MLA from Chikkamagaluru, V Sunil Kumar, 39, an Idiga representing Karkala in Udupi district, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje, 48, a Bunt-Vokkaliga, and BJP state unit president Prahlad Joshi , 52, a Brahmin. “They are all RSS protégés, propagandists of Hindutva, with good organizing capabilities. These probables may not ultimately click, as there are complaints against Ravi and Shobha. But they fit the requirements of the central leadership,’’ sources said. Resistance from seniors is expected. As one party source said, “Even Union minister Nitin Gadkari pulled all strings, including the RSS connection, to become Maharashtra’s CM. He had to step back after the final decision.’’

YOUNG ACHIEVERS

I won’t be surprised if the BJP central leadership opts for a fresh face. We have examples of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar or Mysuru MP Pratap Simha as indicators of what the BJP is looking at now -- persons who are interested in delivering. This is in contrast to the Congress, which is beset with problems. The party is not concerned about building leaders, and complacency has set in. This was the same party, which two decades ago under Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership, had young and fresh faces as its spokespersons.

Prof Harish Ramaswamy | political analyst .

WHY PARRIKAR AND FADNAVIS SCORED

Devendra Fadnavis, 44

* Seen as new-age leader in Maharashtra

* Became corporator at 22, Nagpur mayor at 27, MLA at 29

* RSS moorings

* Holds post-graduate degree in business management, diploma in methods and techniques of project management from DSE (German Foundation for International Development), Berlin

Manohar Parrikar, 59

* Modi and Shah felt he was one of the best BJP CMs, who made the party acceptable in Goa, a state with a substantial Christian vote

* Has administrative abilities and clean image

* IIT-Bombay graduate, considered energetic and efficient

* RSS’ blue-eyed boy

