Karnataka: May 9 Yediyurappa event may turn out to be Vijayendra’s show of strength

Bengaluru: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will participate in an event BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa’s followers are organizing in Karnataka on May 9 to celebrate his 50 years in public life. The event is being keenly watched in political circles, both in the BJP and Congress, as it’s aimed at projecting his son BY Vijayendra as a formidable political heir and defeating the ruling Congress in all upcoming elections.

Chitradurga, a city in central Karnataka, will host the event for which the 83-year-old leader’s close followers are making large scale arrangements.

Vijayendra, 50, has completed two years as the president of the BJP in Karnataka, and the scale of event’s success will demonstrate his personal charisma and grip on the party. His followers say the celebrations are also a part of Vijayendra’s efforts to lead the BJP to victory in the assembly polls two years away. It is also an attempt to unify different factions within the party torn apart by political differences.


This is a large event that sections of senior party leaders are organizing after such a long time. It will galvanize the party cadres across the state and mobilize crowds. The occasion will give a big dose of energy to the party when it is needed the most, a BJP leader said.

The followers of the former chief minister have timed the celebrations to precede local body elections, and to amplify the mood against the ruling Congress. Elections are due for zilla and taluk panchayats as well as for the five city corporations in Bengaluru. The BJP team is keen to channelize public anger, if any, into votes in favour of the BJP, which will help Vijayendra cement his position.

The celebrations in honour of Yediyurappa will closely follow the announcement of results in Davanagere South and Bagalkot, the assembly seats that faced bypolls on April 9. “We expect the Congress to lose in both. Even if they lose one seat, we will intensify our attack on the government,” a BJP leader said.

The event organisers are inviting heads of all important religious mutts from across the communities, and leaders of the Lingayat-Veerashaiva community. The influential community, which is also estimated to be the largest in the state, always projected Yediyurappa as its tallest political figure and backed the BJP in the 2018 assembly elections in which the party emerged as the single largest party.