B S Yedyurappa

B.S Yedyurappa played a significant role in paving the way for BJP's onslaught into Karnataka politics. Prior to 2008 assembly elections where he contested and won from the Shikaripur constituency for the seventh term, BJP's presence in Karnataka politics was a mere specter in the political horizon. The aftermath of the elections sealed BJP's fate in Karnataka government, where he led BJP to a historic win in the state and took the oath of office as Chief Minister on 30 May 2008. He was also responsible in helping Janata Dal (Secular) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy bring down the coalition government headed by Dharam Singh --former CM of Karnataka-- in 2007 and form an alternative government with BJP. An agreement was formed between the JD(S) and BJP, which specified that H. D. Kumaraswamy would be the Chief Minister for the first 20 months, after which Yedyurappa would become the Chief Minister for the remaining 20 months. Yedyurappa became the Deputy Chief Minister as well as the finance minister in Kumaraswamy's Government. However, Kumaraswamy reneged on his word that led to President's rule being declared in the state of Karnataka. They found a way to bury the hatchet, and Yedyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister 12th November 2007. This camaraderie didn't last long as the agreement was dissolved following a disagreement on sharing of ministries which resulted in his resignation as Chief Minister on 19 November 2007. After a tumultuous run as the CM of Karnataka, he found himself on the wrong side of the law where he was accused of illegally profiteering from land deals in Bangalore and Shimoga. Facing pressure from members of BJP, he decided to diverge from the party but later aligned his interests with the BJP and went on to become the CM of the state for the third time where BJP won 104 seats in the state of Karnataka in the 2018 elections. Due to failure in securing the required number of seats he had to resign two days after he was sworn into office. In 2019, When BJP bought down the Congress-JD-(S) coalition government, B.S Yeddyurappa was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka.