B.Y. Vijayendra, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and the second son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, was appointed as the new president of its Karnataka unit on November 10, by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This decision comes six months after the party lost power in the state and also some months after BJP announced its alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular).
He will be, taking over from Nalin Kumar Kateel who was appointed as the state BJP chief in 2019. Kateel’s term had ended even before the Assembly election but he was continuing on extension.
In the recent assembly elections, Vijayendra won as an MLA from Shikaripura constituency, a constituency his father represented eight times since 1983. The BJP’s top leadership is yet to announce the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the southern state where it lost the mandate in assembly elections.
“Our goal is clearly the upcoming Lok Sabha election,” Vijayendra said. “The Lok Sabha election is a big challenge. At a time when the world is looking at the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka must contribute by winning maximum seats,” he said.
ಮೊದಲ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಬೂತಿನೆಡೆಗೆ
— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) November 11, 2023
ಗುರಿಯು ಒಂದೇ ಗೆಲುವಿನೆಡೆಗೆ
ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತ ನಮ್ಮ ಶಕ್ತಿ
ಮತದಾರ ನಮ್ಮ ಬಂಧು
“ಮತ್ತೆ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ -ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆಮೋದಿ
ಬೂತ್ ಗೆಲ್ಲಿಸಿ -ದೇಶ ಗೆಲ್ಲಿಸಿ
ಸಂಕಲ್ಪ ನಮ್ಮದು -ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದ ನಿಮ್ಮದು🙏”.
ಸಂಘಟನೆಗೆ ನವ ಚೈತನ್ಯ ತುಂಬುವ ನಿಟ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಯಾಗಿ, ಇಂದು ಗಾಂಧಿನಗರ ವಿಧಾನಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಬೂತ್… pic.twitter.com/oeg04oRUj3
After quitting electoral politics, BS Yediyurappa extensively campaigned throughout the state in support of the BJP during the assembly elections, contributing to the party’s efforts to maintain power.
Eyeing the Lingayats for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections!
The BJP has made a big move ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election by appointing first-time MLA Vijayendra Yediyurappa, despite the competition for the post among the senior leaders of the BJP, like Shoba Karandlaje, CT Ravi, and V. Sunil Kumar but the party chose Vijayendra who is junior to several BJP leaders in the state, this could also leave many senior leaders in the party bitter.
The decision was taken by BJP Parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making body.
In the May Assembly election this year, the BJP faced a lackluster performance in its crucial strongholds of North and Central Karnataka, covering areas with up to 69 Assembly seats predominantly influenced by the Lingayat community. Out of these seats, the BJP secured victory in only 20, while the Congress claimed 40.
However, in the 2019 General Elections, BJP swept 26 of the 28 seats in the state.
This low performance was accredited to the removal of the then Chief Minister and a major community leader among Lingayats, Mr. Yeddyurappa, and revolts by senior leaders like Jagdish Shettar, who joined the Congress ahead of the election. B.S Yeddyurappa was replaced as Chief Minister by Basavaraj Bommai, who also hails from the Lingayat community.
With the appointment of Mr. Vijayendra, who is considered his father’s political heir, the BJP wants to use B.S. Yeddyurappa’s political clout and play the Lingayat card along with the youth factor as Vijayendra is an enthusiastic young leader. However this move questions the rhetorical speeches given by the top echelons of BJP about “Parivaarwaad”, i.e. dynasty politics.
Lingayats and Vokkaligas, are the two dominant forces in Karnataka politics, earlier some months back in a strategic move, BJP announced an alliance with JD(S) to garner support from the Vokkaligas.
