BENGALURU: If you think BS Yeddyurappa is the next Chief Minister-probable of Karnataka, you are wrong. It is BS ‘Yediyurappa’. Popularly known as BSY, the former CM has changed the spelling of his name back to ‘Yediyurappa’.
Seventy-six-year old Yediyurappa who has taken oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka thrice before, is looking forward to doing it for the fourth time. Yediyurappa has to his credit being the CM of the first-ever BJP-led government in South India in 2007 and subsequently the first-ever BJP CM in South India in 2008.
Till 2007, he used to spell his name as ‘Yediyurappa’. During the BJP-JDS coalition government, after 20 months, it was the turn of the JDS to hand over power to the BJP. On October 3 2007, H D Kumaraswamy and JDS refused to keep up the promise, thus denying BSY the chief ministership.
Just a week later, on the basis of an astrologer’s advice, BSY changed the spelling of his name from ‘Yediyurappa’ to ‘Yeddyurappa’.
The astrologer had advised him to add a ‘d’ after ‘d’ as the double-d would remove negativity. The new name was even notified through an affidavit and through newspapers (October 11, 2007).
Interestingly, on November 12, 2007, he took oath as CM and occupied the chair for only seven days. However, with JDS opting out, the government fell. In May 2008, he became the CM again, serving till 2011. Although he quit the party and formed the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) in 2013, he retained ‘Yeddyurappa’ as the spelling of his name. In 2014, he contested from Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency on a BJP ticket and won.
In 2018, BJP contested the assembly election projecting BSY as the CM candidate. He took oath as CM for the third time in 2018, but then luck did not support him.
Now, his name is back to Yediyurappa. Even in a letter on a BJP letterhead from his office to BJP national president Amit Shah, his undersigned name is spelt as ‘Yediyurappa’.
His party leaders say the spelling ‘Yeddyurappa’ did not bring him much luck. “All three times, he was CM from just a few days to a few months, never completing the full five-year term. Now, based on an astrologer’s advice, it is back to Yediyurappa,’’ said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.
Now, the spelling of his name in all the records will be changed to ‘Yediyurappa’, including on the letterhead, nameboard, website, and visiting cards.
Extra ‘d’ didn’t help?
BJP leaders say the spelling ‘Yeddyurappa’ did not bring the party state chief much luck. “All three times, he was the chief minister
from just a few days to a few months, never completing the full five-year term,” a senior BJP leader said.