Prime Minister Narendra Modi heaped praises on former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday while inaugurating the new Shivamogga airport, indicating that the Bharatiya Janata Party realises his importance in helping the party return to power in the summer’s state election.
Modi garlanded Yediyurappa who stepped down as chief minister in 2021 , draped a shawl around his shoulder and placed a turban on his head, and he later asked people to show respect to the veteran leader who turned 80 on Monday, by switching on the flashlight on their mobile phones.
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“Today is special for one more reason. It’s the birthday of Karnataka’s popular leader BS Yediyurappa. I pray for his long life,” the Prime Minister said. “He dedicated his life to the welfare of poor people and farmers. His speech in the Karnataka assembly last week is an inspiration for everyone leading a public life. Even after reaching the heights of success, how there should be humility in one’s behaviour. This speech of BS Yediyurappa and his life has always been inspiring for people like us and even for generations to come.”
Last week, Yediyurappa delivered a farewell speech in the house as he announced his retirement from electoral politics, although he added that he would work for the BJP till his “last breath” and do everything in his powers to make sure it returns to power.
Modi’s gesture shows that Yediyurappa is an important part of the party’s election plans in Karnataka, especially because he is the tallest leader of the dominant Lingayat community in the state, said party functionaries who asked not to be named.
In 2011, after a corruption scandal, the then central leadership of the BJP asked Yediyurappa to resign. He did, but then exited the party and formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) . The KJP cut BJP’s vote in the 2013 assembly elections and the latter turned in its worst performance since 1994.
A comparison of community-wise vote shares from 2008 and 2013 shows that the Lingayats deserted the BJP in the 2013 elections. The BJP’s vote share declined by almost 14 percentage points, from 33.86% in 2008 to 19.95% in 2013, data show. The Lingayats supported the BJP in the 2014 parliamentary elections, when Yediyurappa returned to the party.
The BJP also made an exception when it selected Yediyurappa as Karnataka chief minister in 2019 when the leader was 77 years old, breaching its rule of leaders retiring at 75.
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In the days following Yediyurappa’s exit as chief minister, the party planned to make chief minister Basavaraj Bommai the face of the Lingayat community, a BJP leader said, asking not be named. “The reservation for the Panchamsali community was part of this plan to project alternate faces before the Lingayat community, but not only did it not succeed, it created a backlash,” the leader said.
Yediyurappa wants his son B Y Vijayendra to inherit his mantle, the leader added. When asked who will contest from his Shikaripura constituency this time, Yediyurappa told the media on Friday: “It will be mostly Vijayendra… but the high command has to approve.”
In 2021, when Yediyurappa stepped down from the chief minister’s post, Vijayendra, who was the state unit vice-president at that time, was made poll in-charge for by-elections.