Why Karnataka Assembly will miss ‘Raja Huli' Yediyurappa

He may have renounced elections for good, but veteran Karnataka leader Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa, or BSY, is not bidding goodbye to politics. 

Earlier this week, BSY stunned everyone by saying that he was giving his last speech in the Assembly, which he entered for the first time in 1983, and that he won’t be contesting elections any more.

BSY has crossed half a century of politics. He will celebrate his 80th birthday on February 27. The ‘roar’ of BSY, termed Raja Huli (‘king tiger’) by his followers, will never be heard again  in the Lower House. 

In action, in another avatar

But, by his own admission, he will remain a factor in the politics of Karnataka, the first state in South India where the BJP formed a government, thanks to BS Yediyurappa, the four-time Chief Minister. 

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A man with RSS roots, BSY was once seen as a farmer leader and a secular face of the BJP.  As the BJP faces a tough contest in the upcoming elections, BSY’s support may be indispensable. “I may be retiring from electoral politics but not from active politics,” he has said. “I will bring the BJP back to power in 2023 and work for the party as a party worker.”

BSY, known to wake up early, go for a morning walk and start work by 8 am, is certainly armed with the discipline to manage the task on hand.

Friends across party lines

His emotional announcement in the Assembly on Wednesday (February 22) turned others, including those from the opposition, emotional.

Congress leaders including Priyank Kharge and UT Khader and JD(S) leader Shivalinge Gowda praised BSY’s leadership and said they learnt a lot from him. They said they wanted to see him again in the Assembly.

BSY has always had a cordial relationship with leaders across parties. Opposition leaders at times called him Chaladanka Malla, a synonym for Duryodhana, for his persistence. 

He and Congress leader Siddaramaiah were always at war but when the latter once praised him, it brought tears to the eyes of BSY. In return, he promptly went to see Siddaramaiah when he was hospitalised.

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Similarly cordial was his relationship with former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, with whom he formed his first coalition government.

Political journey 

Yediyurappa came from a poor farming family and grew gradually in politics without any godfather.

In 1972, he entered public life through the Shikaripura Jan Sangh. He was jailed for 45 days during the Emergency. In 1977, he was elected as the Shikaripura Municipal President and as president of the BJP taluk unit in 1980.

In 1981, he undertook a padayatra against bonded labour. He entered the Assembly for the first time in 1983. Five years later, he became the state president of the BJP. He was named a BJP national secretary in 1992. In 1994, he was elected the Leader of the Opposition of the Karnataka Assembly.

From there, it was more or less a steady political rise for BSY. In 2006, he became the Deputy Chief Minister in the government of HD Kumaraswamy, and held the critical Finance portfolio. He became Chief Minister in 2007.

In 2011, he resigned following indictment in a corruption case, from which he was acquitted in 2016. Upset with the BJP central leadership, he quit the party and formed his own outfit, called the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP). However, fences were soon mended and KJP merged into BJP. 

Subsequently, BSY got elected to the Lok Sabha from the Shivamogga constituency. He quit this post after being elected to the Karnataka Assembly in May 2018. He was sworn in as the CM for the third time. But, unable to prove majority support, resigned in just 55 hours. 

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HD Kumaraswamy took oath as CM, only to lose his majority in July 2019 and give the seat back to BSY. Once again, in July 2021, BSY was replaced with Basavaraj Bommai as CM.

Numerous scandals 

Amid the steady rise, Yediyurappa has always battled scams and scandals, with constant accusations of nepotism as well. The allegations have not only cost him the CM post, but also led to his arrest by the Lokayukta police. 

Even now, his greatest wish, according to his followers, is for his second son BY Vijayendra to succeed him in the party ranks. His first son, BY Raghavendra, is an MP from Shivamogga. BSY wants VIjayendra as the next Lingayat leader of the party.

His love for his children pits BSY against the stated principles of the BJP, which claims to shun dynasty politics. But this is an issue the party and one of its tallest leaders will probably address later. For now, it’s the 2023 Assembly election alone that matters.