The former Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, has taken charge as the president of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and with elections due in mid-2018, he has set his sights on heading the next government in the State.
He has a full two years to prepare for the all-important election wherein his primary task is to ensure that the BJP unseats the ruling party, although it’s another matter that it will not be a big task given the fact that the Congress is expected to face a major anti-incumbency wave, more so, due to its lacklustre performance thus far.
Karnataka is one among the few States that the Congress is presently in power, and the party needs to put in its best efforts to retain its status, and it is this aspect which has been relegated to the background.
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There has not even been a recast of the Siddaramaiah ministry ever since it assumed office in May 2013, and the Chief Minister is dead set against any reshuffle since there is always the possibility that such an exercise could lead to instability of his government. Initially, he was even against the appointment of chairmen to government boards and corporations although in recent months he has relented on this. As such, the Chief Minister himself is on a sticky wicket, with complaints of misuse of office and position surfacing in recent weeks.
That Mr. Yeddyurappa enjoys much clout in the BJP high command has been evident for quite some time, and the manner in which he was appointed the State president has only added to this opinion, more so, since he was summoned for a discussion with the party president, Amit Shah, and immediately thereafter asked to take charge of the State unit.
He will have to soon constitute the team of office-bearers of the State unit of the BJP, and thereafter the district leaders, which will pave the way for the party to ride on a high wave in the run-up to the elections.
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It is obvious that to win over the popularity of the people, he will launch a string of programmes and protests, apart from making promises, which will subsequently form part of the BJP manifesto.
With the appointment of a tall Lingayat leader as the head of the State unit, the BJP will once again polarise the majority community votes, much to the chagrin of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), who have to stay happy with the votes of the other communities, including the Vokkaligas, the Backward Classes and the Scheduled Castes.
It will therefore be pertinent for the Congress to appoint a senior Vokkaliga leader as the head of the State unit, although the Chief Minister is firm that a Lingayat leader should take charge as the head of the KPCC.
This is the fourth time that Mr. Yeddyurappa is the head of the State BJP, with the first being in 1988, followed by a second round in 1990 and the third in 1998.
However, he has to prove his mettle at the present juncture, and a resounding victory for the BJP will obviously ensure that he will be the head of the government, similar to the aftermath of the 2008 Assembly elections, although at that point of time he was the head of a government thanks to the support extended by some Independents.
( The writer is Resident Representative, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Bengaluru )