Yediyurappa stepped down on his own, BJP will return to power in 2023: Amit Shah

The bitter battle between Yediyurappa and the national leadership ended with the 78-year-old stepping down on July 26. Yediyurappa made the announcement while desperately trying to hold back tears that suggested that his decision was enforced and not voluntary.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday heaped praises on Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor BS Yediyurappa and said the latter had stepped down voluntarily to make way for new leadership to take over in the state.

Yediyurappa, who shared a volatile relationship with the national leadership and his own party members in the state during his two years in power, has taken it upon himself to bring back the party to power in 2023 on its own. (PTI PHOTO.)

“Just recently, Yediyurappa took a decision on his own that a new person and leadership should be given the responsibility of Karnataka. And BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) decided that Basavaraj Bommai should be given the responsibility of being the new chief minister and he is the CM today,” Shah said in Davangere, about 260 km from Bengaluru.

The bitter battle between Yediyurappa and the national leadership ended with the 78-year-old stepping down on July 26. Yediyurappa made the announcement while desperately trying to hold back tears that suggested that his decision was enforced and not voluntary.

More importantly, Shah said that under the leadership of Bommai, the BJP will be re-elected to power with a full mandate, indicating the possibility that the saffron outfit will head into the 2023 assembly polls with the latter leading the party.

The remarks come at a time when there appears to be some discomfort between the national leadership of the party and the 78-year-old former chief minister who, according to multiple people aware of the developments, is alleged to be still in charge of the new government.

Yediyurappa, who shared a volatile relationship with the national leadership and his own party members in the state during his two years in power, has taken it upon himself to bring back the party to power in 2023 on its own.

The trouble, analysts and others said, is the manner in which the BJP and Yediyurappa are trying to attain this so-called common goal with their distinct approaches, Hindustan Times reported on Thursday.

The national leadership of the BJP is trying to attain this goal on the platform of Hindutva while Yediyurappa continues to pursue his caste-based politics which has shaped his over four-decade old career and life.

This is Shah’s first visit to Karnataka after Yediyurappa was replaced and a day before three major districts -- Belagavi, Kalaburagi and Hubbali -- head for polls for urban local body elections on Friday.

Shah’s visit also comes at a time when there is visible discomfort within the BJP in Karnataka. There is a section of core-BJP legislators who nurse a feeling of neglect for being overlooked with the choice of Bommai, who has been with the BJP only for the last 13 years. There is an even bigger section of legislators who have aired their dissent in public after being overlooked for a ministerial berth in favour of those seen to be loyal to Yediyurappa.

Lobbying continues within the BJP to fill up the four remaining spots in Bommai’s cabinet.

“Bommai has made some small but significant beginnings. He stopped the tradition of receiving police guard of honour, stopped many VVIP practices and has taken certain steps for transparency. It is a very short time since Bommai took over but people who are sitting in Delhi and closely watching the developments in Karnataka, say that the BJP has strengthened its position by installing him as the Chief Minister,” Shah said, firmly standing behind the party’s choice.

The BJP also faces a challenge in the yet-to-be announced Zilla and Taluka panchayat elections which is likely to be a good indicator of the mood of the population before 2023.

Shah said that Karnataka had done well in terms of vaccination and has almost inoculated 90% of the state’s eligible population.

Shah also lamented the existence of vaccine hesitancy among some communities and appealed to his party workers to spread awareness and extend all possible support to ensure wider vaccination coverage against Covid-19.