Putting an end to speculation, former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday announced that he would return to the BJP soon to strengthen the hands of the party’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a KJP meeting in his hometown Shikaripur, Yeddyurappa declared that it would be his last KJP rally. “I want to see Modi as the next Prime Minister and have decided to join BJP with an intention to work in this direction,” he said.
“I have put behind all earlier bad experiences in the BJP and decided to work towards making Modi the Prime Minister of the country. My return to BJP will be meaningful if we manage to win more than 20 seats in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state. The Congress has come to power because of the division of votes between the BJP and KJP,” he said.
Yeddyurappa also said that all processes for his rejoining the BJP were over and a formal announcement on his return to the party would be made by the BJP in the next 4-5 days.
According to BJP sources, Yeddyurappa is expected to be formally reinducted at a mega rally to be held after Sankranti. The BJP parliamentary board is expected to meet in the next few days to give its nod for his reinduction. A formal invitation would be extended to him after that. Though BJP sources asserted that Yeddyurappa is joining the BJP without any conditions, party leaders admitted that he would be given a responsibility befitting his stature.
Speaking to Express, Karnataka BJP general secretary C T Ravi said, “Yeddyurappa will join the party unconditionally. We all want him to lead the party in the Lok Sabha election in the state. There are expectations of Yeddyurappa contesting the Lok Sabha election.”
Party sources said the BJP’s dream of winning at least 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state could not be realised without Yeddyurappa. The national leaders have realised that and Yeddyurappa too sensed an opportunity to become a minister at the Centre.
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