Race to fill BS Yediyurappa’s boots as leader of Lingayats

BENGALURU: With the BJP leadership in Karnataka lacking secondrung Lingayat leaders with panstate appeal, a race is on as to who will succeed chief minister BS Yediyurappa as the face of the saffron party. The Lingayat community forms the party’s major vote bank.
Yediyurappa has kept BJP within touching distance of absolute power over the past decade, but is set to fade as the central leadership phases out its old guard. This has led to a serious succession tussle in BJP ranks, with Yediyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra trying to be the front-runner. But with the party’s central leadership not keen on dynastic rule, Vijayendra may not be considered a serious contender.
“When the central leadership refused to buckle and hand HN Ananth Kumar’s wife Tejaswini a ticket to contest Lok Sabha elections from Bengaluru South and instead chose a political novice like Tejasvi Surya, Vijayendra’s chances of succeeding his father are slim,” said a BJP leader.
On Saturday, a front-page advertisement in a local Kannada daily was published by Vijayendra’s supporters, and a largely unknown group called the All India Lingayat-Veerashaiva and Backward Classes Association.
The advertisement stated Vijayendra, hailing from a community with a strong presence across states including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, should push forward and ignore criticism. “With such a vast community across states backing you, such small incidents should not come in your way to grow,” it read.
The ad comes in the wake of reports that Vijayendra was interfering in the functioning of the government. The BJP youth wing general secretary had issued a rejoinder to counter allegations.
Meanwhile, the central leadership has decided to test the waters by appointing Laxman Savadi, a Lingayat, as deputy chief minister despite him not being an MLA. Whether he will be accepted by the community remains to be seen.
Other contenders in the party include Basavaraj Bommai, V Somanna, Murgesh Nirani and JC Madhuswamy.