Why Yeddyurappa is important for the BJP
12:16PM Thu 13 Mar, 2014
The BJP is aiming to win 13 to 15 Lok Sabha seats in
Karnataka, their hopes bolstered by the return of B S
Yeddyurappa. So why did the Lingayat strongman
return to the BJP’s fold? What does his comeback
mean? An analysis.
The return of B S Yeddyurappa to the Bharatiya
Janata Party was not surprising. On December 25,
2012, Baba Ramdev addressed a press meet in
Karnataka and said: “Yeddyurappa must return to
the BJP. The party’s leaders must make efforts for
this to happen.”
Since this statement was made, several seers in
Karnataka including the Pejavar seer Shri
Vishweshwa Thirtha Swami began to make similar
statements and demand that the senior leaders of
the party strive to bring Yeddyurappa back to the
BJP.
Of course the seers wanted the benevolent
Yeddyurappa back. For the duration of
Yeddyurappa’s tenure as Chief Minister, not only
did various Hindu and Veerashaiva Mutts receive
financial grants, but the seers of these Mutts
obtained a prestigious position in society by
association with a chief minister in a democratic set
up.
However, the seers did not endorse Yeddyurappa
merely for his financial assistance. Even though
Yeddyurappa belongs to the Veerashaiva
community, he practices all the superstitions of the
Hindu religion with great faith. In him, the seers
found the ambassador who would protect the ideas
they espouse. No other BJP leader is as good an
ambassador of ritual, spells, gods, poojas , and
homas as Yeddyurappa is.
BJP leaders have witnessed an Assembly election
without Yeddyurappa and do not want to risk
repeating the same mistakes in the Lok Sabha polls.
Yeddyurappa's influence in North Karnataka would
have meant a split of votes for the BJP in the Lok
Sabha elections.
The friction between Yeddyurappa and others in BJP
had intensified so much that were it not for the
general elections, Yeddyurappa would have had to
remain with the Karnataka Janata Party for a lot
longer.
It is the concern for votes that resulted in BJP
getting Yeddyurappa back. The party now hopes
that people in Northern Karnataka who stood behind
Yeddyurappa when he ended his 40-year
association with the BJP-Jan Sangh to start the
KJP, will now return to the BJP's fold.
Yeddyurappa is also a master negotiator. When the
mid-term elections were held in 2008, the
Yeddyurappa-led BJP had won a total of 110 seats.
Of the 90 seats in north Karnataka, BJP had won
55. Subsequently, Yeddyurappa convinced three
Janata Dal (Secular) and one Congress MLA from
this region to resign; and made three of them
contest elections again from this region on a BJP
ticket and got the mandate of the people.
If the BJP needs to crunch numbers at a later stage,
they hope Yeddyurappa's skills of negotiation will
help.
During his return, Yeddyurappa made it clear that he
wanted to see Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
as PM. The two leaders have lot of similarities.
Both leaders grew in the shadow of the BJP and the
Sangh Parivar and today, have become more
powerful than the party. Even though the party
decided to send him to campaign for elections to
Uttar Pradesh, Modi declined. He struck hard at the
BJP high command for giving more importance to
his one-time opponent Sanjay Joshi.
Over the years, Modi has built the Gujarat BJP as
though it is not a part of the national party at all.
Yeddyurappa has implemented the Gujarat model in
Karnataka. Yeddyurappa’s stature within Karnataka
is such that it is impossible to imagine a BJP
without him.
If you look at the history of political parties, none of
this is new. National parties, which have to espouse
broad-based positions due to nationalistic
compulsions, often find themselves at the mercy of
regional leaders. At one stage, this even becomes
inevitable. Often, such leaders enhance the stature
of the party, and similarly, they cause
embarrassment as well. This is not limited to just
one party.
The recent elections in Manipur are a case in point.
Without an Ibobi Singh, it would have been
impossible for the Congress to win three
consecutive elections. That is the power of Ibobi
Singh. If in future Ibobi Singh revolts against the
Congress, the party will be decimated because of a
lack of alternative leadership.
The BJP faces the same problem in Karnataka. If
Yeddyurappa leaves, there is no leader who can pull
crowds, nor is there a leader with such a strong
backing of caste (Lingayat community). The BJP
has not even thought of developing alternative
leadership.
The Congress has taken such a beating many
times. An example of this, is the situation in Andhra
Pradesh. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy grew so high in
stature in Andhra Pradesh, that he eclipsed the
Congress. The people equated YSR with the
Congress, and Sonia’s magic did not work there.
Only when he died in a helicopter crash did the
Congress realise that they did not have a single
good leader in the state. Even though three years
have passed since, the Congress has not been able
to bounce back from that situation. The question as
to who will lead the Congress forward in Andhra
Pradesh remains unanswered.
The same kind of vacuum was in the BJP. No
national leader of the BJP has the confidence to
say: “If Yeddyurappa leaves then let him leave.”
This is not because Yeddyurappa has support of
many MLAs, but fact that Yeddyurappa has the
power to draw votes, the political acumen, and most
important of all, it knows that he can bring the BJP
back to power.
Whether or not Yeddyurappa can achieve all this in
the next elections is uncertain, but one thing is
clear: no one else is capable of achieving it.
Naveen Soorinje is a senior political correspondent at
BTV, yet-to-be launched Kannada news channel.
(This is a translated version, originally written in
Kannada)
The opinions expressed in this articles are the
personal opinions of the author. The News Minute is
not responsible for the accuracy, completeness,
suitability or validity of any information in this article.
The information, facts or opinions appearing in this
article do not reflect the views of The News Minute
and The News Minute does not assume any liability on
the same.
-The Sunday StandardThe BJP is aiming to win 13 to 15 Lok Sabha seats in
Karnataka, their hopes bolstered by the return of B S
Yeddyurappa. So why did the Lingayat strongman
return to the BJP’s fold? What does his comeback
mean? An analysis.
The return of B S Yeddyurappa to the Bharatiya
Janata Party was not surprising. On December 25,
2012, Baba Ramdev addressed a press meet in
Karnataka and said: “Yeddyurappa must return to
the BJP. The party’s leaders must make efforts for
this to happen.”
Since this statement was made, several seers in
Karnataka including the Pejavar seer Shri
Vishweshwa Thirtha Swami began to make similar
statements and demand that the senior leaders of
the party strive to bring Yeddyurappa back to the
BJP.
Of course the seers wanted the benevolent
Yeddyurappa back. For the duration of
Yeddyurappa’s tenure as Chief Minister, not only
did various Hindu and Veerashaiva Mutts receive
financial grants, but the seers of these Mutts
obtained a prestigious position in society by
association with a chief minister in a democratic set
up.
However, the seers did not endorse Yeddyurappa
merely for his financial assistance. Even though
Yeddyurappa belongs to the Veerashaiva
community, he practices all the superstitions of the
Hindu religion with great faith. In him, the seers
found the ambassador who would protect the ideas
they espouse. No other BJP leader is as good an
ambassador of ritual, spells, gods, poojas , and
homas as Yeddyurappa is.
BJP leaders have witnessed an Assembly election
without Yeddyurappa and do not want to risk
repeating the same mistakes in the Lok Sabha polls.
Yeddyurappa's influence in North Karnataka would
have meant a split of votes for the BJP in the Lok
Sabha elections.
The friction between Yeddyurappa and others in BJP
had intensified so much that were it not for the
general elections, Yeddyurappa would have had to
remain with the Karnataka Janata Party for a lot
longer.
It is the concern for votes that resulted in BJP
getting Yeddyurappa back. The party now hopes
that people in Northern Karnataka who stood behind
Yeddyurappa when he ended his 40-year
association with the BJP-Jan Sangh to start the
KJP, will now return to the BJP's fold.
Yeddyurappa is also a master negotiator. When the
mid-term elections were held in 2008, the
Yeddyurappa-led BJP had won a total of 110 seats.
Of the 90 seats in north Karnataka, BJP had won
55. Subsequently, Yeddyurappa convinced three
Janata Dal (Secular) and one Congress MLA from
this region to resign; and made three of them
contest elections again from this region on a BJP
ticket and got the mandate of the people.
If the BJP needs to crunch numbers at a later stage,
they hope Yeddyurappa's skills of negotiation will
help.
During his return, Yeddyurappa made it clear that he
wanted to see Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
as PM. The two leaders have lot of similarities.
Both leaders grew in the shadow of the BJP and the
Sangh Parivar and today, have become more
powerful than the party. Even though the party
decided to send him to campaign for elections to
Uttar Pradesh, Modi declined. He struck hard at the
BJP high command for giving more importance to
his one-time opponent Sanjay Joshi.
Over the years, Modi has built the Gujarat BJP as
though it is not a part of the national party at all.
Yeddyurappa has implemented the Gujarat model in
Karnataka. Yeddyurappa’s stature within Karnataka
is such that it is impossible to imagine a BJP
without him.
If you look at the history of political parties, none of
this is new. National parties, which have to espouse
broad-based positions due to nationalistic
compulsions, often find themselves at the mercy of
regional leaders. At one stage, this even becomes
inevitable. Often, such leaders enhance the stature
of the party, and similarly, they cause
embarrassment as well. This is not limited to just
one party.
The recent elections in Manipur are a case in point.
Without an Ibobi Singh, it would have been
impossible for the Congress to win three
consecutive elections. That is the power of Ibobi
Singh. If in future Ibobi Singh revolts against the
Congress, the party will be decimated because of a
lack of alternative leadership.
The BJP faces the same problem in Karnataka. If
Yeddyurappa leaves, there is no leader who can pull
crowds, nor is there a leader with such a strong
backing of caste (Lingayat community). The BJP
has not even thought of developing alternative
leadership.
The Congress has taken such a beating many
times. An example of this, is the situation in Andhra
Pradesh. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy grew so high in
stature in Andhra Pradesh, that he eclipsed the
Congress. The people equated YSR with the
Congress, and Sonia’s magic did not work there.
Only when he died in a helicopter crash did the
Congress realise that they did not have a single
good leader in the state. Even though three years
have passed since, the Congress has not been able
to bounce back from that situation. The question as
to who will lead the Congress forward in Andhra
Pradesh remains unanswered.
The same kind of vacuum was in the BJP. No
national leader of the BJP has the confidence to
say: “If Yeddyurappa leaves then let him leave.”
This is not because Yeddyurappa has support of
many MLAs, but fact that Yeddyurappa has the
power to draw votes, the political acumen, and most
important of all, it knows that he can bring the BJP
back to power.
Whether or not Yeddyurappa can achieve all this in
the next elections is uncertain, but one thing is
clear: no one else is capable of achieving it.
Naveen Soorinje is a senior political correspondent at
BTV, yet-to-be launched Kannada news channel.
(This is a translated version, originally written in
Kannada)
The opinions expressed in this articles are the
personal opinions of the author. The News Minute is
not responsible for the accuracy, completeness,
suitability or validity of any information in this article.
The information, facts or opinions appearing in this
article do not reflect the views of The News Minute
and The News Minute does not assume any liability on
the same.