For the BJP, Yediyurappa is not over, he is far from over

When it comes to B S Yediyurappa, he has been handled with velvet gloves by the central leadership. There have been lavish praises in his favour, thus indicating his importance in the party

BJP stalwart, B S Yediyurappa may have announced his retirement from electoral politics, but his role in the Karnataka BJP is far from over.

There have been scores of articles written about Yediyurappa stating that this time he would stay away. However looking at how the developments are taking shape, it is immensely clear that he is the go to man for the BJP in Karnataka.

A stark image of Yediyurappa which said it was all was during the inauguration of the Shivamogga Airport. Images were splashes in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding his hand and describing how special the relationship was.

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have been lavish in their praise for Yediyurappa or BSY as he is referred to. Experts tell OneIndia that Yediyurappa is not just important in the context of the 2023 Karnataka elections, but also in terms of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

To a large extent in 2019, it was Yediyurappa who steered the campaign for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Along with the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ground work by BSY, the BJP trounced its opponents. The party National Democratic Alliance went on to win 25 of the 28 seats, while the Congress, Janata Dal (S) and an independent managed just 1 seat each.

During the inauguration of the Shivamogga airport, PM Modi was lavish in his praise of BSY. He termed BSY's contributions to public life as inspirational. While felicitating BSY, PM Modi urged those in the crowd to flash their mobile phone lights in a gesture of honour to Yediyurappa. He did receive an enthusiastic response.

Projecting Yediyurappa as the tallest leader is also a way of beating anti-incumbency, keeping the Lingayat vote intact. It is also aimed at the Opposition which has charged the ruling BJP under Basavaraj Bommai as corrupt.

It is a well known fact that when it comes to Yediyurappa, the central leadership has treated him with velvet gloves. The Lingayat vote is crucial for the BJP and upsetting BSY will use the Lingayats who make up for 16 per cent of the population in Karnataka. The BJP does not want a repeat of the Congress fiasco, when the party unceremoniously ousted Veendra Patil, a Lingayat who was chief minister at that time. Till date in political circles that decision is discussed and it said that till date the Lingayats have not forgotten what the Congress did to Patil.

There is an unwritten rule in the BJP to keep out leaders above the age of 75 out of elected offices. Telling BSY to step down as CM was probably the hardest decision that the BJP had to take. While Yediyurappa did step down as CM on July 26 2021, he was immediately elevated to the BJP's parliamentary board, which is the top decision making body of the party. The message was clear that upsetting Yediyurappa was not an option.

His popularity in the state and the fact that Bommai was unable to win over the Lingayats is what kept Yediyurappa relevant in the BJP for this election as well.

The BJP however would not ride on the Yediyurappa factor alone. The party during the campaign would speak about the budget presented by Bommai and the decisions taken by his government.