E-Paper
‘Need to put in efforts to win state elections’: Yediyurappa
Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa on Sunday tried to clarify his earlier remarks that the Modi wave alone will not help win elections in the state
Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa on Sunday tried to clarify his earlier remarks that the Modi wave alone will not help win elections in the state.
“Let us not be under some notion. In the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is very easy to win the Lok Sabha elections. But we should put in efforts and by helping development works reach the people we should win the elections,” Yediyurappa said on Sunday in Davangere, about 260 kilometres from Bengaluru.
The statements come at a time when Karnataka is preparing for several elections like zilla and taluk panchayats, MLC polls and other bypolls in the coming year under chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka has seen significant changes in leadership with Yediyurappa forced to step down and Bommai taking his place as chief minister, much to the discontent of several seniors in the party who were overlooked for the top job.
The BJP has intensified its outreach to muster support from the grassroot-level workers in a bid to strengthen its base ahead of the 2023 assembly elections. Several leaders of the saffron outfit spoke in the BJP working committee meeting in Davangere.
He added that the party should be strengthened by bringing in more leaders from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other backward classes into the BJP fold that would help strengthen the party and the organisation.
Yediyurappa asked BJP legislators and leaders not to take the opposition parties lightly.
He said that the opposition parties have their own calculations and strength.
It is no secret that Yediyurappa and the BJP’s national leadership under Modi and Amit Shah was strained and the latter being forced out two years before his term could end.
Speaking to reporters later, Yediyurappa said that the meaning of what he said was that the party should win 140 plus seats (in 2023) based on the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our own special efforts.
He also said that state Congress president DK Shivakumar was trying to contact BJP legislators and that there was no chance of anyone from the saffron fold leaving.
He said that the chances of Congress leaders coming to the BJP was higher.
Yediyurappa is also planning to undertake a state-wide tour to build the party which has added to apprehensions of the BJP’s top leadership which has so far been unable to replace the stature of the 78-year-old.
Yediyurappa has built his career on caste-based politics as against the BJP which is trying to infuse Hindutva, adding to the contrasting approaches to help the saffron outfit return to power.
People aware of the developments said that the BJP is anxious about Yediyurappa’s upcoming tour.
However, Arun Singh, the national general secretary of the BJP, incharge of Karnataka on Sunday said that Yediyurappa does not need any green signal from the party for his tour.
“There is no need for a green signal. BS Yediyurappa is the tallest leader amongst all parties in the state. If he tours (the state), it will be beneficial for the party and inspire workers,” Singh said.
