B S Yediyurappa bids House adieu: Won’t return, but will work for BJP until last breath

An MLA since 1983 — he was not a member between 1999 and 2004 — Yediyurappa said although he would not return to the Assembly, he will continue to fight for the BJP outside the House. He said he was indebted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the position and power given to him.

“I have already said that I will not contest elections,” he said. “Even if I do not stand for elections, the kind of respect that has been given to me by PM Modi and the positions that have been given, I cannot forget for my whole life. I will work to build the BJP until my last breath.”

“I am speaking for the last time in the session. Once the session is over there is no question of me returning here. So I am telling BJP legislators to be confident of coming to power. There is no question of me returning to the House,” he said.

In July 2022, Yediyurappa had virtually announced his retirement from the poll fray by stating that his younger son, B Y Vijayendra, would take his place as the candidate from Shikaripura in 2023 Assembly polls. The move was seen as an attempt to preempt any move by BJP to decline an electoral debut for Vijayendra.

Despite Yediyurappa trying hard to get Vijayendra — currently a vice-president and poll convenor for the party — an important position in the state government, the BJP leadership has been reluctant to give him any major role citing the party’s stand against dynastic politics. This has sparked speculation that BJP intends to gradually ease the veteran’s career into the sunset.

On Wednesday, Yediyurappa said: “I am hearing a lot of criticism…(that) BJP has sidelined me. The BJP and PM Modi have never sidelined us…the positions and the respect given (to me)…I feel indebted to PM Modi. I can never forget the position and power given to me.”

Stating that he has been a four-time chief minister “due to the opportunities given to me by the party”, Yediyurappa said: “The kind of opportunities given to me has not been given to anyone else by the party. If anyone thinks (she/he) will attack me and I will stay quiet, they are wrong. The government headed by PM Modi is making the country independent, safe and secure and no one can dispute this fact. In a way, the country is emerging as a Vishwaguru.”

The former CM said the BJP would return to power on its own strength and asked party MLAs to have confidence.

He also criticised former CM and Congress leader Siddaramaiah for changing constituencies for the forthcoming elections. “The words of the Opposition cannot discourage us,” he told legislators from his party. “Some people feel that if they attack (BJP), the ideals of PM Modi, the party or the RSS, they can get rid of BJP and RSS. This is not true. This is a dream and they will wake up soon and see the reality. I want all of you to go to your own constituencies and win the hearts of the people.

“The ruling party must convince people that we have done more work than any other government.”

Yediyurappa will be formally felicitated and sent off by the legislature on Friday when the Budget session ends.

On Wednesday, however, Yediyurappa was less emotional than he was before his exit as CM in 2021, the time he delivered a speech recounting his contribution to the building of BJP in Karnataka in the years before the Modi era began.

“At a time when we had no one who would talk about us, and we could not gather even 50 to 100 people, I walked from Basavana Bagewadi, Basavakalyan, Banwasi and from Shimoga. I carried out padayatra to build the party with a few others,” he had said in July 2021.

“In Shimoga, when there was no car to travel around, I cycled around the district with workers. I built this party when there was no one in the state. Today, the party has reached great heights and is the foremost in the country,” he had said.

The BJP veteran had expressed regret that he had been unable to bring BJP to power on its own majority over the last five decades. “I travelled like a man with wheels for legs and brought the party to power in 2008. We did not have a full majority and we had to run the government by drawing the support of others. Although we have had the opportunity to win 115 to 120 seats on our own, we failed due to our own mistakes. I am confident that in the coming days we will be able to get a full majority if we strengthen the party,” Yediyurappa had said when he quit as CM.