The massive victory scored by the Bharatiya Janata Party in the bypolls has not only made the State government secure, but has also given Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa a shot in the arm to assert himself within the party where he earlier felt hemmed in, especially from the party high command.
Now an assertive Mr. Yediyurappa is expected to have more bargaining power in the Cabinet expansion and a free hand in administration, sources in the party believe.
Gamble pays off
Not only is 76-year-old Mr. Yediyurappa credited with toppling the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government by wooing MLAs from their fold, without much support from the party’s central leadership, but also with getting most of the defectors re-elected now. “His gamble has paid off and has proved him to be the only mass leader of the party in the State,” a senior party leader said. “The way BJP swept all seats in north Karnataka, even those that the party initially thought it would lose, like Ranebennur and Kagwad, following the Chief Minister’s appeal to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, has proved his continued hold on the community, the party’s big vote bank,” one of his close associates said.
Mr. Yediyurappa had led the party in the 2018 Assembly polls winning 104 seats, just nine short of majority.
The only leader to be appointed Chief Minister despite crossing the 75 years age limit, the party high command seemed to have been trying to clip his wings — forcing the appointment of three Deputy Chief Ministers and a State president of the party he was not keen on. The long delay in the Centre’s help to the State over floods had also left the Chief Minister unhappy and he had publicly said he was walking a tightrope.
But the bypoll victory, coming close on the heels of the Maharashtra fiasco where the BJP’s central leadership blundered, has only strengthened the regional satrap, party strategists say. “After losing Maharashtra, the area of the country under BJP rule has significantly dwindled and the party high command cannot afford to take risks with the affairs in Karnataka, presently one of the very few large States that BJP rules. This mostly translates to greater deference for Mr. Yediyurappa,” a senior Minister close to the Chief Minister said.
