Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa has been rattled by talks of dissidence and an anonymous letter urging the party to replace him, barely seven months into his fourth term at the helm of the BJP-led government.

The double whammy came just when Yediyurappa was trying to consolidate his position following an unexplained delay in allowing him to expand the cabinet on two different occasions.

Around 20 BJP MLAs from the Lingayat community had met at industries minister Jagadish Shettar’s home on Monday, setting tongues wagging in the party about a rebellion.

While Yediyurappa is arguably the most powerful Lingayat politician in the state, his position has not gone unchallenged even within his party.

The anonymous letter printed in Kannada says Yediyurappa, who turns 77 on February 27, can better serve the party’s “Margadarshak Mandal” — euphemism for a virtual old-age home where several veterans have been packed off — or as the governor of a state.

It also alluded to the rising power of Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra, who has become a bulwark to guard his father from enemies within the party and thus an uncomfortable barrier for many party lawmakers who try to meet the chief minister.

Party spokesperson Vaman Acharya, however, blamed the Congress for circulating the letter. “The letter is a mischief by the Congress that wants to inject rebellion into our party, as it can’t tolerate how well the government has been functioning,” Acharya told The Telegraph.

“The meting at Shettar’s place was only a routine gathering of MLAs wanting to raise certain issues in their constituencies with the industries minister who is one of the senior-most leaders of our party.”

Asked whether the party was planning to find a new chief minister to replace the ageing Yediyurappa, he said: “Presently, no plans.”

Yediyurappa has not responded, either on the letter or on Monday’s huddle.

Senior Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao blamed the BJP’s internal strife for the latest round of dissidence. “They are trying to blame it on others to hide the rot within,” he said.

A senior BJP functionary, who declined to be named, said the huddle at Shettar’s house was all about Vijayendra and his rising popularity.

“No one can disagree that Yediyurappa is the most popular Lingayat leader. Now many, including those from his community, see his son who works closely with his father as a future leader,” he told this newspaper.

“It is true that Vijayendra has been helping his ageing father. That is an arrangement between the father and son. Who are we to ask him to ignore his son?”

Many of those who attended Monday’s meeting had been ignored for cabinet berths since Yediyurappa had to placate the turncoats who helped him bring down the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government.

The chief minister had inducted ten first-time BJP lawmakers, who had switched over to the party after rebelling against the previous government in July 2019.

That had left some old-timers disgruntled and one among them, Umesh Katti, has openly declared that he would henceforth eye only the chief minister’s post.

Another burning issue was Yediyurappa’s decision not to install more deputy chief ministers. “We already have three deputy chief ministers. That’s why perhaps the chief minister refused to add two more to accommodate senior leaders. How many people can be made ministers?” the senior BJP functionary said.

But he didn’t see any threat to the government and described the huddle at Shettar’s place as just a “pressure tactic”.

“The meeting at Shettar’s place was a simple pressure tactic,” the leader added. “There is no danger to the government as all our lawmakers are on the same page as far as the government is concerned.”