BJP veteran B.S. Yediyurappa’s announcement that he would retire from electoral politics and that his son B.Y. Vijayendra would contest from Shikaripur in his place, has raised many eyebrows in the party.
Though the leader, who is credited with strengthening the party in different areas of the State from scratch, is seen as being well within his rights to announce his retirement from electoral politics, what has surprised everyone is his announcement that his son would be contesting from Shikaripur.
Though Mr. Vijayendra, known for his organisational skills and poll management strategies, has high chances of getting the party ticket to contest the Assembly polls, the announcement by his father that he would contest specifically from Shikaripur has surprised senior leaders within the party.
Making the announcement is the prerogative of the Central or the State leadership, they point out.
Leaders close to Mr. Yediyurappa seek to downplay the propriety of his announcement by insisting that it is “only natural” for a leader who represented the constituency for eight times to pass on the baton to his son, so that the emotional bond with the constituency continues.
Pressure on the party
But another section of leaders see this as an attempt to bring pressure on the party leadership to go along with his decision. Some expect a long silence from the high command to increase tension within the Yediyurappa camp.
It is not very easy for the Central leadership to completely defy Mr. Yediyurappa, as it needs his active support, especially to help keep its Lingayat base intact ahead of the next Assembly elections.
In this context, it remains to be seen whether it would fully agree to Mr. Yediyurappa’s wish.
Not from Varuna
Interestingly, some leaders were speculating about the possibility of Mr. Vijayendra taking on Congress leader Siddaramaiah if he were to contest from Varuna in Mysuru district.
Some were of the view that Mr. Vijayendra would get a jumpstart in his political career if he emerges as a “giantkiller” by trouncing the political stalwart from Varuna.
Others appeared keen to pose a tough challenge to Mr. Vijayendra by pushing him to this contest and also jeopardise the perceived goodwill between Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Yediyurappa.
The latter argue that Mr. Vijayendra should not choose a “safe bet” like Shikaripur.
