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| BJP rejects call to make a Yeddyurappa-Modi 'Jodi' despite clamour | | | Agencies
The central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) turned down a proposal from B S Yeddyurappa’s adherents to project Yeddyurappa and Narendra Modi as the “twin faces” of “vikas” (development) and the pair as the “panacea” for Karnataka’s ailments.
Loyalists of Yeddyurappa, who has been positioned as the BJP’s chief-ministerial candidate in the state assembly election, hit upon this tactic ostensibly to clear the doubts and misgivings that arose around their leader after his son, B Y Vijendra, was denied a ticket that would have enabled him to contest against chief minister Siddharamaiah’s son Yatindra from Varuna, elevating the little known constituency in Mysuru district to a marquee seat. Indeed, Yeddyurappa’s detractors in the Karnataka BJP as well as the central leaders are miffed with his supporters’ exertions to create evenly sized placards of him and the Prime Minister and place his mug alongside those of Modi and the BJP president Amit Shah in the recent party ads inundating the media.
Yeddyurappa’s clout in the prelude to the state elections has not been as full-blown as he had expected when the BJP resurrected him after he had rebelled, left the party and returned home. His political associate, Shobha Karandlaje, who sought a ticket from Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru City, was also denied one although the word from Yeddyurappa’s camp was she was not keen on fighting the state election now that she’s a Lok Sabha MP.
The strategy to de-couple Modi from Yeddyurappa was in sync with the BJP’s working plan to inflate the Prime Minister’s image and authority as unchallenged and peerless not just at the Centre but in the provinces too. Where a CM candidate was placed, he willy-nilly slipped into the background and allowed Modi to lead from the front. Assam’s Sarbananda Sonowal and Gujarat’s Vijay Rupani adhered to the brief. A Karnataka BJP leader elaborated on the approach, saying, “Our internal assessment is that we could be the single largest party. We are close to the finishing line but to beat the tape, Modi is what we are looking for. We need Modi to touch or cross the majority mark.”
A video conference Modi had with his party workers and leaders in Karnataka this week apparently “rejuvenated” those who were especially peeved with the infighting among the state leaders. Asked what it was about Modi that brought smiles and cheers, a source said, “His speeches are not important because he repeats himself. It’s the ambience his presence creates. His magic is intact.” |
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