Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa (Photo | PTI)
BENGALURU: Bidding a formal farewell on the last day of the last session of the 15th Assembly on Friday, senior BJP leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa reiterated that he will not contest the next Assembly polls, claiming that his son BY Vijayendra is likely to take up the Shikaripura seat which he represented since 1983.
“But this does not mean I have retired. I will continue to work hard to bring BJP back to power,” he said. In Karnataka, which BJP considers as its gateway to the South, he managed to be at the helm every time the saffron party formed the government or was part of the government since 2006. Then, the N Dharam Singh-led Congress-JDS alliance government had collapsed and JDS senior leader HD Kumaraswamy formed the government in alliance with BJP, where Yediyurappa was his deputy.
Yediyurappa expressed his gratitude to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh claiming that the BJP think tank was responsible for his phenomenal rise in politics. The Lingayat strongman sprang a surprise by terming former prime minister HD Deve Gowda as the ‘ideal’ leader and politicians have a lot to learn from him as he has been studious about subjects even at his old age.
He thanked Speaker Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, opposition leader Siddaramaiah and JDS leader AT Ramaswamy for their effective performance as legislators. He patted Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai for delivering the goods, while the latter thanked Yediyurappa for his support.
Members of the House gave the 79-year-old leader a big round of applause as four decades of his illustrious political career with eight times as MLA and four times as CM came to an end.
“BJP gave me enough opportunities. I will turn 80 on February 27 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will come to Shivamogga and inaugurate the airport. This has brought me great relief and satisfaction,” he told reporters. He added that his son BY Vijayendra, state BJP vice-president, will likely contest from the Shikaripura seat in the Assembly polls due in April/May.
He reminisced about the days of his struggle from being a member of the Shikaripur Municipal Council to becoming a chief minister. “I am eternally indebted to the people of Shikaripur and continue to repay it,” he said.
Last speech in House evokes mixed response
With former chief minister B S Yediyurappa bidding adieu to electoral politics, his farewell speech on the floor of the house evoked mixed reaction among MLAs cutting across party lines. Congress leader Eshwar Khandre said people of the state, especially Lingayats, will never forget the manner in which the BJP ousted Yediyurappa from the CM’s post with the latter breaking down in tears.
Replying quickly, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy advised Khandre not to take political mileage from the farewell day of the session. “I am not politicising, but expressing my feelings,” Khandre countered.
Madhuswamy said, “Yediyurappa had taken the decision to step down as CM on his own and also to retire from electoral politics as age is a factor,” he remarked. However, Khandre gave the example of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Congress MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa who are still active in electoral politics.
Former Union minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal fired barbs at Yediyurappa. “I had the credentials of being the Union home minister in the Atal Behari Vajpeyi cabinet. But Yediyurappa snubbed me in the state as he had apprehension that I may run for the chief minister’s post,” Yatnal, a Panchamasali Lingayat leader, said.
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra, who had also started his political career by contesting unsuccessfully from Thirthahalli assembly seat in 1983, observed that Yediyurappa’s farewell to electoral politics is a “matter of concern”. Senior JD(S) MLA Sa Ra Mahesh termed Yediyurappa as his guru during the former’s initial stage in politics.
