BJP’s Brahmastra Yediyurappa: Why Party’s Karnataka Strongman Is Back In Spotlight | Southern Slice | India News

Last Updated:November 06, 2026, 11:52 IST

Yediyurappa’s recent appearance at the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Eradicate Anarchy’ padayatra in Kolar earlier assumes much significance.

The BJP may have tried to move beyond veteran leader BS Yediyurappa pushing for young blood and a new rung of leaders, but Karnataka’s political realities appear to have brought the veteran leader back into the party’s calculations.

After seeing him stay away from the centre of daily political affairs for a considerable period, Yediyurappa’s recent appearance at the BJP’s ‘Save Democracy, Eradicate Anarchy’ padayatra in Kolar earlier assumes much significance against this backdrop.

The protest march, in Kolar, saw by BJP state president BY Vijayendra, Karnataka in-charge Harish Dwivedi, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, Legislative Council Opposition leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and Yediyurappa, hitting the streets and making a point, one that was loud and clear to the ruling Congress – don’t underestimate the power of the BJP even though they may have only 63 elected MLAs, but they are a strong-knit unit who are looking to bounce back in 2028.

All the big guns of the Karnataka BJP were there, yet the party once again brought out its Brahmastra and most recognisable Lingayat face, BSY at a time when its Karnataka unit is battling internal groupism, a leadership flux and growing differences within its organisation.

But beyond the speeches and the political messaging, it is Yediyurappa’s renewed visibility that is drawing attention.

While the purpose of the march was to counter the Congress and INDIA bloc’s allegations against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and their criticism of the Election Commission and EVMs, the presence of the former Chief Minister has added another political dimension to the exercise.

It clearly indicates that for the BJP the challenge is that it continues to need the very leader it once tried to move to the “Margadarshak” route.

BSY’s son and Karnataka state party president Vijayendra accused the ruling Congress of questioning democratic institutions and attempting to create an atmosphere of anarchy in the country. He also targeted the present Shivakumar and previous Siddaramaiah government over corruption, rising prices and stalled development.

Yediyurappa, meanwhile, accused the Congress of conspiring to undermine the democratic system and expressed confidence that the BJP and HD Kumaraswamy’s JD(S) would join hands to form the government in Karnataka in the next Assembly elections.

For a party that had once decided that it was time to move beyond its tallest Karnataka leader, the repeated return to Yediyurappa raises questions about whether the BJP can afford to do without him, particularly when its state unit is struggling to find a common political direction.

The relationship between the BJP and Yediyurappa has been complicated. In July 2021, the central leadership made him step down as Chief Minister, bringing Basavaraj Bommai in his place. The decision was seen as an attempt to move towards a generational change in the state leadership. However, the transition was not without political consequences. Yediyurappa was not just another Chief Minister. He was the leader who saw the “lotus bloom” in southern India as he brought the BJP to power for the first time in 2008 with a full mandate, he then built the BJP’s political base in Karnataka over several decades and played a crucial role in making it a force to reckon with in southern India and the BJP.

His removal from the post at the time had brought about a lot of speculation and also discontent among sections of the Lingayat community, given his stature as one of the community’s most influential political leaders. Replacing him with yet another Lingayat leader as CM, Basavaraj Bommai was seen as a way to stride the community that forms close to 17 percent of the voting population in Karnataka. The BJP leadership subsequently attempted to accommodate him by inducting him into its Parliamentary Board, indicating that while it wanted a change in the state leadership, it could not afford to completely alienate him.

The appointment of his son BY Vijayendra as Karnataka BJP president in November 2023 was another significant development. While it ensured that the Yediyurappa family continued to have considerable organisational influence, it also triggered resentment among several senior leaders who felt that the party’s state unit was increasingly being controlled by one family.

Vijayendra’s elevation was expected to keep the Yediyurappa camp engaged while also bringing in younger leadership. Instead, it opened up another front within the party, with several senior leaders questioning his leadership and demanding that the central leadership find another candidate.

The discontent was particularly visible in the case of expelled BJP leader and MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who repeatedly targeted both Vijayendra and Yediyurappa, accusing the state leadership of running the party through a coterie. Yatnal was eventually expelled from the BJP in March 2025. His differences with the Yediyurappa family have remained one of the major fault lines within the Karnataka unit.

KS Eshwarappa, another senior BJP leader who fell out with the party leadership, also became a source of embarrassment for the BJP. He rebelled against the party after his son KE Kanthesh was denied a Lok Sabha ticket in 2024 and contested independently against Yediyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra in Shivamogga. He was subsequently suspended from the party. In a recent interview with this reporter the leader spoke of how the BJP still runs in his blood, and that he will continue to work for the party till his last breath.

However, in the run-up to the latest organisational changes, there have been attempts to mend some of these differences. Yediyurappa and Vijayendra have met both Eshwarappa and Yatnal at separate events in recent weeks, triggering speculation about possible reconciliation and their eventual return to the BJP fold.

The developments are significant because the BJP is approaching a crucial organisational transition. Vijayendra completes his three-year tenure as state president on November 10, and the central leadership has to decide whether to give him another term or bring in a new face.

Is Yediyurappa being brought back to consolidate a fractured Karnataka BJP? Is he being used to facilitate reconciliation with disgruntled leaders ahead of the November 10 leadership decision? Or is the party acknowledging that, despite its attempts at generational change, it still needs the political influence of its veteran Lingayat leader?

The Kolar padayatra may have been organised under the banner of saving democracy and countering the Congress’s allegations over electoral processes. But politically, Yediyurappa’s presence has brought the spotlight back on the BJP’s own leadership dilemma.

The BJP’s experience in 2021 has shown that sidelining Yediyurappa is not a straightforward exercise. At the same time, relying too heavily on his family has created its own set of problems, with several senior leaders feeling that their political space has been reduced.

There is considerable opposition within the party to Vijayendra’s continuation. Yatnal has made it clear that his return to the BJP would depend on Vijayendra being removed as state president and the party dropping him as a potential Chief Ministerial face. While there have been indications of attempts to reach out to disgruntled leaders, there is no clarity yet on whether the central leadership is prepared to accommodate all their demands.

At the same time, Union Minister V Somanna’s political ambitions in Karnataka have added another dimension to the leadership debate. Several names, including Somanna and former minister V Sunil Kumar, have been doing the rounds as possible contenders for the state president’s post.

The BJP is therefore faced with a difficult choice. Retaining Vijayendra could upset the disgruntled leaders who have been demanding a change in leadership, while replacing him could risk alienating Yediyurappa and his supporters. The party’s challenge is not merely to choose a new state president but to ensure that the decision does not deepen the existing divisions.

This is where Yediyurappa’s role becomes important.

Despite being moved out of the Chief Minister’s post, he continues to remain a significant political figure in Karnataka. His influence within the Lingayat community, his long-standing association with the party and his ability to connect with sections of the BJP’s traditional support base make him an important factor in the party’s political calculations, especially in the run up to the 2028 assembly elections in Karnataka.

The party is also dealing with another challenge. While the Congress government has faced a series of political controversies and internal differences, the BJP has not been able to fully capitalise on the situation because of its own factionalism. The JD(S), under H.D. Kumaraswamy, has increasingly taken an aggressive position against the Congress government, raising questions about the BJP’s ability to lead the Opposition narrative in the state.

Kumaraswamy’s growing visibility in the political space is another factor that the BJP cannot ignore, particularly with the two parties having an alliance for the next Assembly elections. Yediyurappa’s statement in Kolar about the BJP and JD(S) joining hands to form the next government was also significant in this context.

Significant in many ways – it brings back memories of the uneasy political relationship he shared with HD Kumaraswamy, over a failed power-sharing experiment in 2006-07 that led to the collapse of the BJP-JDS government. The two leaders, who once came together to form the JD(S)-BJP coalition government in Karnataka in 2006, could not sustain the alliance despite a clear 20:20 power-sharing agreement. Under the arrangement, Kumaraswamy was to serve as Chief Minister for the first 20 months, following which Yediyurappa was to take over for the next 20 months. However, when the time came for the transfer of power in October 2007, Kumaraswamy refused to honour the arrangement, citing differences and a lack of trust. The BJP withdrew support, bringing down the government. Though the alliance was briefly revived, Yediyurappa’s first stint as Chief Minister lasted just seven days in November 2007 before the government collapsed once again.

With the 2028 Assembly elections on the horizon, the BJP needs to consolidate its organisation, address the resentment among senior leaders and retain its traditional support base. The party cannot afford to allow its internal leadership battle to overshadow its campaign against the Congress government.

Yediyurappa’s renewed public appearances, therefore, could be part of a larger attempt to bring different factions together. His recent interactions with leaders who were once his bitter critics have added to speculation that the veteran leader could be playing a role in efforts to broker peace within the state unit.

However, it remains to be seen whether this renewed prominence translates into a larger political role or whether the BJP is merely drawing on his influence at a time when it needs to project unity and strategise so that the BJP comes back to power.

The irony is hard to miss. The BJP had once sought to move beyond Yediyurappa, replaced him as Chief Minister and attempted to bring in a new generation of leadership. But the subsequent elevation of his son triggered another round of resentment, leaving the party struggling to balance the aspirations of its senior leaders with the influence of the Yediyurappa family.

Now, as the party prepares for another round of organisational changes, it is once again turning to the very leader who had been forced to be sitting on the sidelines and provide advice and direction to help build the party in the south.

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