BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party senior leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who turned 80 on February 27. After an active political life of four decades in the BJP, except briefly, and having inspired many young politicians, he recently announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming Assembly election, but will strive to bring the party back to power.
The development may not be surprising in the BJP, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unwritten rule that anyone above 75 should not hold any administrative post. However, in Karnataka, Yediyurappa will continue as a guiding force to the other leaders and the younger crop.
In the emerging scenario, his son B Y Vijayendra is most likely to don the mantle of successor. Yediyurappa had announced last year that his second son Vijayendra will contest from his bastion of Shikaripura in Shivamogga district in 2023. But Vijayendra, who is state vice-president of the BJP from 2020, may still need to cover some ground in Shikaripura.
On his 80th birthday, Yediyurappa suggested to Vijayendra to be active in the electoral battle field and spend two days in a week in Shikaripur, considering his future political life. The first preference of Yediyurappa is Shikaripur as he started his political career there, and Varuna Assembly segment will is second on the priority list.
It is said that Yediyurappa is making all preparations for Vijayendra’s coronation and making plans on to how to hold on to the Shikaripur turf as it is a question of protecting his reputation. But in the BJP, the top brass use game-changing tactics to secure a win at the last minute.