Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa on Sunday said the Narendra Modi wave would help win Lok Sabha elections easily, but party leaders and workers need to put in the effort to win state elections, retracting his earlier statement that the prime minister cannot alone help win elections.
“Let us not be under some notion. In the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is easy to win the Lok Sabha elections. But by not only stating Modi’s name to win elections, but we should also put in efforts and by helping development works reach the people we should win elections,” Yediyurappa said on Sunday in Davangere, about 260 km from Bengaluru.
The statements come when Karnataka is preparing for several elections at zilla and taluk panchayats levels, MLC polls and other polls in the coming year under chief minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka has seen significant changes in leadership with Yediyurappa forced to step down and Bommai replacing him as the chief minister, much to the discontent of several senior leaders in the party overlooked for the top job.
Yediyurappa recently lavished praise on governance by his successor Bommai.
“Mr. Bommai is running the administration well,” Mr. Yediyurappa said, before adding, “The Government under Mr Bommai is giving a good administration. Even the people of the state feel the same. I am sure, the government will do better in the coming days”, he said.
The BJP has intensified its outreach to muster support from the grassroots-level workers to strengthen its base ahead of the 2023 assembly elections. Several leaders of the saffron outfit spoke in the BJP working committee meeting in Davangere.
He added that the party should be strengthened by bringing in more leaders from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and other backward classes into the BJP fold that would help strengthen the party and the organisation.
Yediyurappa asked BJP legislators and leaders not to take the opposition parties lightly.
He said that the opposition parties have their calculations and strength.
It is no secret that Yediyurappa and the BJP’s national leadership under Modi and Amit Shah was strained and the latter being forced out two years before his term could end.
Speaking to reporters later, Yediyurappa said that the meaning of what he said was that the party should win 140 plus seats (in 2023) based on the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our special efforts.
He also said that state Congress president DK Shivakumar was trying to contact BJP legislators and that there was no chance of anyone from the saffron fold leaving. He said that there was a higher chance of Congress leaders coming to the BJP.
Yediyurappa is also planning to undertake a state-wide tour to build the party, adding to apprehensions of the BJP’s top leadership, which have so far been unable to replace the stature of the 78-year-old.
Yediyurappa has built his career on caste-based politics as against the BJP, which is trying to infuse Hindutva, adding to the contrasting approaches to help the saffron outfit return to power.
People aware of the developments said that the BJP is anxious about Yediyurappa’s upcoming tour.
However, Arun Singh, the national general secretary of the BJP, in charge of Karnataka on Sunday, said that Yediyurappa does not need any green signal from the party for his tour.
“There is no need for a green signal. BS Yediyurappa is the tallest leader amongst all parties in the state. If he tours (the state), it will be beneficial for the party and inspire workers,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai on Sunday exhorted party leaders and workers to gear up for the upcoming bypolls and Bengaluru municipal elections and said the party has to win all the elections.
“There are two Assembly bypolls (Hanagal and Sindagi constituencies), legislative council elections and a few panchayat elections. We, seniors, have discussed about them. We will take every election seriously right from the local-level elections to Parliamentary elections,” he said at the inaugural session of the BJP’s State core committee meeting.
He shared his joy over the BJP’s victory in the Belagavi municipal election for the first time.
“We started with conquering Mysuru municipal corporation by having our own Mayor and now we have won the three municipal corporations in north Karnataka (Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Kalaburagi),” Bommai said.
He said the party has to gear up for the upcoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) election. He said he was confident of the BJP getting full majority in the BBMP poll.
The Chief Minister reiterated his commitment to serve the people. In this connection, he recalled the mega inoculation drive carried out to celebrate the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Seva Samarpan Divas (Dedicating Services Day).
(With inputs from agencies)