After months of speculation, the Chief Minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappa on Monday announced that he is resigning as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. While Yediyurappa’s successor is yet to be named, he may continue as the caretaker Chief Minister till his replacement is confirmed. Yediyurappa earlier on Sunday said he will take an appropriate decision, once he receives directions from the BJP high command regarding his continuation in the post. "By (Sunday) evening once it comes, you will also get to know about it. Once it comes I will take an appropriate decision," Yediyurappa said in response to a question whether the directions from the party high command in Delhi were expected on Sunday.
Yediyurappa served as the Chief Minister for two years after he took office on 26 July, 2019. This was his fourth term as Chief Minister. He previously served as Chief Minister for a week in November 2007 and was then Chief Minister for three years from 2008 to 2011. He resigned in July 2011 in the wake of an anti-corruption report on an illegal mining scam. He took office as Chief Minister again in 2018 for two days before his government was toppled by the JD(S)-Congress coalition government.
A year later, following the collapse of the coalition government, the BJP formed the government in Karnataka again. Seventeen legislators from Congress and JD(S) resigned and later joined the BJP to help Yediyurappa take charge for a fourth term as Chief Minister.
From the beginning of his term, Yediyurappa faced rebellion from within his party with several old-time BJP legislators objecting to the new entrants being given priority.
The resignation comes after a drawn-out political tussle internally in the BJP. The party's high command in New Delhi have been building to this moment for more than a year now. In June 2020, the high command ignored Yediyurappa's recommendations for the nominations to the Rajya Sabha.
Over the next few months, state leaders made dissenting statements asking for Yediyurappa to be replaced. It was evident that these dissenters had permission to humiliate the Chief Minister as the high command never took action against anyone, despite occasionally saying that Yediyurappa had their support.
There are many BJP leaders who have complained that Yediyurappa's family, especially his son BY Vijayendra has been acting like a proxy CM. Allegations of corruption too have been raised and the high command had communicated its unhappiness to Yediyurappa.
However, more than the dissatisfaction among a section of the party in the state, the high command's decision is also driven by the fact that with the next Karnataka Assembly elections less than two years away in 2023, the party wants to project a new leader and line of leadership in the state. Many within the party consider Yediyurappa to be the only BJP leader with state-wide appeal and there is now an opportunity to elevate one of the leaders in its second rung. Sources in the BJP also said that the high command is looking to replace Yediyurappa with someone backed by the RSS and someone who is less confrontational.
Yediyurappa has stood up to the high command in the past, most notably in January 2020 when he reminded Prime Minister Modi that Karnataka has not received enough funds for flood relief works. He made the appeal when sharing a stage with the Prime Minister at an event held in Tumakuru in the state.
Moreover, Yediyurappa is known to be a leader who built the party's support base and ensured the support of many caste groups including from the Lingayats, the caste that he belongs to. This had made him less obligated to the high command. For the BJP, a new leader who appeals to a larger section of Hindus and will be closer to the high command would augur well.
The decision on Yediyurappa's successor is still a mystery to party's leaders in the state. One source in the BJP suggested that the successor will be a Lingayat around the age of 50. "But even though there are 41 Lingayat MLAs in the party, there are very few who come from the Sangh Parivar," a BJP source told TNM. The names of Basavaraj Bommai, who is close to Yediyurappa and leaders like Murugesh Nirani, Arvind Bellad have been suggested as possible Chief Ministerial faces from the Lingayat community. Vokkaliga leaders like CT Ravi and CN Ashwath Narayan and others like Prahlad Joshi and Sunil Kumar have also been mentioned.