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Yediyurappa makes a U-turn on ticket for son, says BJP will decide
Yediyurappa said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda will take the final decision regarding the seat allocation ahead of the 2023 Karnataka assembly polls.
A day after casting doubts over his political future by announcing that his son, BY Vijayendra, will contest from his bastion Shikaripura in Shivamogga district in the upcoming assembly elections, former Karnataka chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa on Saturday said a decision regarding the seat allocation will be taken by the party top brass.
Yediyurappa said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda will take the final decision regarding the seat allocation ahead of the 2023 Karnataka assembly polls.
Talking to reporters on Saturday, he said: “My statement yesterday has created a lot of confusion. I said that Vijayendra would contest from Shikaripura under the pressure of party workers, but the final decision would be taken by PM Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda. The party’s decision will be final.”
Yediyurappa added that Vijayendra could win wherever he contests, including the Old Mysuru region. “We will abide by the party’s decision. I can only give a suggestion but the final decision will be taken by the high command.”
Yediyurappa turned 79 this February and will be 80 by the 2023 assembly elections, which goes against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unwritten rule that anyone above 75 should not hold an administrative post. Despite this rule, Yediyurappa was projected as the chief ministerial candidate in 2017 by then BJP national president Amit Shah as the party continues to be heavily reliant on the Lingayat strongman, possibly just one of two mass leaders in the state. The other was the opposition leader, Siddaramaiah.
When asked about the Opposition Congress’ claim that the BJP has sidelined him, Yediyurappa termed it ‘far from reality.’
“There is no truth in the claims that I have been side-lined in the party. The party has given me everything. A Municipal Corporation member was made four-time chief minister. I will start my state tour soon to strengthen the party to ensure BJP wins 140 seats,” Yediyurappa said.
He was responding to a statement from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar, who said the BJP has always used Yediyurappa. “No matter how hurt he is, he has always backed the party. He believed in the party’s ideology and worked. He knows the pain and persecution he’s been through mentally and was suppressed. However, the BJP has used him as much as they wanted,” said Shivakumar.
On Saturday, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai rushed to Yediyurappa’s residence to discuss Friday’s announcement.
“BS Yediyurappa is a revered personality in Karnataka. He has already clarified that he will not sit at home. Yesterday, Yediyurappa had given only suggestions as the locals were pressuring him repeatedly. The final decision would be taken by the high command. Not regarding Vijayendra, all decisions would be taken by PM Modi and Amit Shah. Yediyurappa is like a huge powerhouse, and his statement has not put the party under any pressure,” Bommai said.
Revenue minister R Ashoka slammed Congress for commenting on the party affairs. “We are not Congress, who are out on bail. The party will decide who will get a ticket and who will not. Yediyurappa has clarified that by saying that there is no talk of retirement. He has assured me that he will campaign across the state. Yediyurappa has told that he would abide by PM Modi’s decision,” Ashoka said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Friday granted an interim stay on the 2020 Karnataka high court order refusing to quash a corruption case related to the de-notification of land against Yediyurappa.
The high court, on December 22, 2020, refused to quash a criminal complaint registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Yediyurappa, accused of de-notifying parcels of land and allotting it to entrepreneurs during his tenure as the deputy chief minister of the state between February 2006 and October 2007.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli also issued notices to the Karnataka Lokayukta police and Vasudeva Reddy on an appeal of Yediyurappa against the order of the high court.
The counsel for the former CM contended that the high court had quashed the FIR against co-accused Raghunath Vishwanath Deshpande in the same case in 2015, and this backdrop, the probe against Yediyurappa was illegal and amounted to the abuse of the judicial process.
