Caretaker Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa showed no indication of retiring from active politics, having vowed that he would get busy right away with organising the party.
The Lingayat strongman is in no mood to take up a gubernatorial position. He said he was not an aspirant for any such post. “I will travel across the state and work to strengthen the party,” he said.
Party observers note that Yediyurappa might try to wield his clout through a section of MLAs loyal to him. Also, he might look to secure the future of his sons, Shimoga MP B Y Raghavendra and BJP vice-president B Y Vijayendra.
In any case, the new chief minister will have to find a way to work with Yediyurappa.
However, reports of the BJP central leadership’s refusal to yield to Yediyurappa’s demands such as elevating Raghavendra as union minister could throw a spanner in his future plans.
While the Yediyurappa loyalists maintain that he will continue to be a behemoth with significant electoral pull spread across communities, the opposite camp read this as the end of Yediyurappa influence in politics.
One of the remarks by Yediyurappa after his resignation reflected his ambition to continue in electoral politics as he vowed ensure that the party wins 120-130 seats in the next election.
Party hardliners now expect a complete reshuffle of the Cabinet. According to one legislator, Yediyurappa “will not be in any position to create trouble as the new CM will be empowered directly by the central leadership.”
Also, pontiffs rallying behind Yediyurappa in the run up to his resignation has not gone down too well with the central leadership, it is said. “Yediyurappa might have rattled the high command with the drama he did over the last week or so,” the legislator pointed out.
According to political analyst Chambi Puranik, Yediyurappa, by nature, will be active in the party. “BJP will use him to prevent a backlash from Lingayat community. He may bring some advantages to his son Vijayendra also in the process,” he said. However, BJP cannot be without Yediyurappa at the moment as he will play a role in keeping the government or party together, he added.
Sources added that cases against the outgoing CM being heard in various courts could also play a role in keeping any further disgruntlement at bay. “He could get in legal tangle in no time,” a source said.
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