ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (78), the BJP's popular mascot in Karnataka, stepped down as the chief minister yet again, without completing a full term. In stark contrast to his previous ouster in 2011, following corruption charges, this time, Yediyurappa's exit has been "smooth" and "honourable", just the way the BJP leadership has strategised after fighting the dilemma of political pragmatism and party ideology for long.
In his parting speech, the 78-year-old leader, who painstakingly built the party in the state for nearly five decades, claimed he was resigning "willingly" and "happily" while expressing his gratitude to the party leadership for bending the rules to allow him to occupy the CM's seat despite his age. But a question that continues to intrigue is what caused his premature exit. Was it his age, charges of corruption and nepotism, poor governance, factional politics or the political compulsions of a party to usher in new leadership?
Yediyurappa is no small leader as he is the tallest leader of the party known for his mass appeal and of course his stranglehold on his community, the dominant Lingayats who hold sway in more than 100 out of the 224 assembly seats in Karnataka. He is perhaps the only chief minister who had veto powers over the party leadership in the state matters till recently and before the factional politics began to render his position as the chief minister untenable.
While Yediyurappa's baiters and the rival factions have long existed, it was only after July 2019 that the anti-Yediyurappa faction grew stronger.
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