The BJP had a tough tour persuading and negotiating with chief minister BS Yediyurappa who resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister after much grilling and introspection. Karnataka BJP unit was pissed and miffed by the undue interference of his son in the political and policy matters of the state.
BS Yediyurappa found himself on edge, being on the defensive anticipating the action in advance. In May 2018, Yediyurappa had to resign after failing to muster enough numbers for the survival of his government in the state. JDS-Congress coalition headed by HD Kumaraswamy staked claim to power with a working majority in the state assembly.
July 2019 was stormy, unsetting the Congress government from the state after 17 of its legislators were lured by the rival BJP to its bandwagon. Yediyurappa played no foul with all his political sharpness and cleverness, potentially benefitting from conflict of interest between senior Congress leaders DK Shivkumar and Siddaramaiah.
By-polls were an eyewash as everybody knew the outcome but for Yediyurappa taking everyone on board in the BJP was a task cut out with his rivals and competitors scrambling for their space with a battered and bruised Yediyurappa consciously rolling himself. His defiance of sticking to his chair till the last restricted his prospects as for his involvement in scams and scandals marring his reputation as a leader branded and celebrated across the state hailing from a dominant Lingayat community.
Who will succeed Yediyurappa given the insecurities and uncertainties of the electorate in such pressing times of a pandemic is puzzling in itself. Tirath Singh Rawat had to pave the way for Pushkar Singh Dhami in Uttrakhand after the BJP was alerted about next year’s assembly elections in the state.
Are they up for a game in Karnataka, too, considering the assembly polls scheduled for 2023.