BJP’s BS Yediyurappa conundrum: With him or without him?

BENGALURU: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked into the newly constructed Shivamogga airport holding Karnataka BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa’s hand on Monday, the irony of the camaraderie was not lost.
Barely 24 hours earlier, Yediyurappa had publicly snubbed state party chief Nalin Kumar Kateel, disagreeing with his notion that the upcoming assembly elections would be a Tipu-vs-Savarkar battle. And, this is the same Yediyurappa whom BJP’s central leadership had forced to step down while in the middle of his fourth stint as chief minister.
It appears BJP is at crossroads in the state: Does it make the leap from Lingayat vote bank and development premise to a hard-right Hindutva agenda? Should it ‘temper’ its approach and bank on Yediyurappa’s mass appeal — although he flouts the party’s anti-dynasty policy — or push ahead with its hardline narrative?
During a public campaign in Ballari last week, Union home minister Amit Shah, for the first time since Yediyurappa was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai as chief minister, ignored the state government’s policies and said: “I urge you to repose your trust one more time in PM Modi and Yediyurappaji and vote BJP back to power. ”
That, along with Modi’s repeated praise of Yediyurappa on Monday, clearly indicates the party is unable to find a solution to the conundrum that is the Lingayat strongman.
“You cannot remove Yediyurappa from BJP now,” admitted BJP MLA Kumar Bangarappa, adding that at some point, dynastic politics will end and the legacy of Yediyurappacannot be wished away. “The party needs a credible face in south India to ensure it does not lose its foothold. When he disagrees with the state party president, Yediyurappa is only trying to suggest that the past cannot be evoked for today’s time and age. ”
But KS Eshwarappa, former minister and BJP hardliner, said cultural identity will play a key role in this year’s elections and no one person will be the face of the party.
“I can tell you this much: BJP will fight this election under collective leadership, with cultural identity playing as much of a role as the development agenda,” he said.
However, Vishwas Shetty, political analyst, says BJP’s focus must be on development and that it cannot dwell disdainfully on Tipu’s actions as it will prove counterproductive. “Today, the focus should be on development. On that front, what Yediyurappa has done for Shivamogga is visible,” Shetty said.