- Will he or will he not? Would he step aside meekly bowing to the diktat of the central leadership or will he launch yet again a spirited challenge questioning the rationality of asking him to move away? Would he walk out into sunset as an aggrieved and hurt leader or would he be pragmatic enough to understand the ground reality to vacate the hallowed position held for decades but not before extracting his rightful dues? Would he try to influence the considerable sway to lobby humongous support of the community to back him tooth and nail that is built so assiduously over the decades? What would happen to all those loyalists having backed him during many highs and lows of his illustrious political career? All the questions seemed to have been answered at last.
PC: Satyaki Baidya
- The four-time Chief Minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappa has finally tendered resignation on the day of his government completing 2 years after coming to power under controversial circumstances. What was in the news for over a year about BSY’s eventual exit from the political landscape has come to fruition drawing curtains to a glittering and successful leadership career carving an indelible niche for himself in the annals of Karnataka’s political history. There is no denying the fact that the Lingayat strongman, along with the Late HN Ananth Kumar, was instrumental in building the saffron party from scratch to where it stands in the present times. If Bharatiya Janata Party has found a foothold in Southern India, the credit largely goes to Yediyurappa.
- From being a non-entity jostling for space to positioning the party as the single largest party with a pan-Karnataka presence holds a mirror to BSY’s exemplary organization-building skills as well as ability to take along and lead diverse personalities to form a government against all odds. Whereas the BJP was known to propagate hardcore Hindutva ideology, BSY chose to fashion himself as a social coalition builder rendering the man acceptable amongst hard to dissect caste complexities prevalent in the state. That he could successfully navigate the party through choppy waters over the last decade-and-a-half has ensured the saffron outfit grows in strength aspiring to extend its influence in neighboring southern states as well.
PC: News Desk
- Now the question that begs the answer is who will replace the formidable strongman and what will happen to those turncoats who quit the Congress and JD(S) helping BSY to form the present government? The Central Leadership’s penchant for springing in surprises in the form of appointing unconventional choices to head the government might not work in the prevalent caste-based scenario this time around. The BJP would ideally want to keep the strongman in good humour by going along with a leader from the Lingayat community since hundreds of seers are not pleased with the replacement of BSY. A trusted aid of BSY is chosen and a Lingayat to boot as well. Will BSY’s shadow continue to loom large? Time alone will reveal how things unravel.
