BENGALURU: Former chief minister and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa is on the BJP’s star campaigners’ list announced for the upcoming Telangana assembly polls. He is the only leader from Karnataka among 40 leaders, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Yediyurappa, who is almost 80 years old and had announced his retirement from active electoral politics, is expected to travel to Telangana in the coming days to woo voters. Though Karnataka has four Union ministers, including Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje, A Narayanaswamy and Bhagwant Khuba, the BJP high command chose Yediyurappa’s name. Telangana has a large number of Veerashaivas, and Yediyurappa is expected to woo these voters.
Former minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan told TNIE that Yediyurappa was the first chief minister of the party in a South Indian state. “He is not just a pan-Karnataka leader. As Telangana shares its border with Karnataka, Yediyurappa’s influence extends there too. He is also a known face in Hyderabad which will help the party get votes,” he said. Yediyurappa’s presence in Telangana will make a difference for the party, which is why he was chosen, the BJP leader added.
Party sources said though Yediyurappa is out of electoral politics, he is a strategist and also popular. “One can love or hate Yediyurappa, but cannot ignore him. At this age, he is travelling across Karnataka with the same zeal, and will do the same in Telangana,” said sources, on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Yediyurappa, who was in Tumakuru, on Monday lashed out at the state government and said cheques given to SC beneficiaries had bounced, which shows the government is bankrupt. He also slammed the government for not providing compensation to farmers when the state was facing severe drought.
“We did not wait for Central government compensation grants. We immediately handed over money to farmers and later adjusted the money with the compensation,” he said. He said people are facing issues because of the guarantee schemes. In Tumakuru, industrialists are facing power shortage, he claimed.