Bengaluru, July 23: Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said on Saturday that his son and BJP state deputy chairman BY Vijayendra has the strength and ability to win an election from anywhere, but the party’s top brass must take The final decision. Yediyurappa, who has been an eight-time MLA of the Shikaripura assembly constituency in Shivamogga, said he will not run in the upcoming assembly elections, but would “suggest” the party’s top brass to put forward his son.
During a program in Shivamogga on Friday, the Lingayat strongman said he would not run in the upcoming election but would put his son forward. The BJP stalwart reiterated what he said the day before.
“Vijayendra is ready to compete anywhere the party high command asks him to compete. From God, he has the strength to win everywhere and has built his personality accordingly. However, the final decision will be with the Prime Minister.” “I can just give a suggestion. We will stick to his (the prime minister’s) decision,” Yediyurappa told reporters on Saturday, saying that during a program he had been pressured by party workers to compete again in Shikaripura, but he refused and proposed his son’s name as the BJP candidate in his constituency for next year’s elections.
“I told my party workers that I will not fight in the next election, but I will ask Vijayendra to challenge the poll,” the veteran BJP leader said. The former prime minister said he was being pressured daily to place Vijayendra in Mysuru or Chamarajanagar district.
BJP insiders said that Vijayendra had played a crucial role during the KR Pet assembly poll and helped the party win from the seat for the first time in the Vokkaliga stronghold. Yediyurappa hails from Bookanakere in the KR Pet constituency in Mandya district, but the party was never able to win the election from there.
In July 2019, KC Narayana Gowda, who is now a minister in the Basavaraj Bommai government and defected from the Janata Dal (Secular), resigned from the assembly, contested the by-elections on the KR Pet BJP ticket and won the seat. Vijayendra had also wanted to run from Varuna constituency in Mysuru in 2018 on the BJP ticket when Congress stalwart Siddaramaiah vacated his seat for his son S Yathindra to run for Congress. However, the BJP leadership did not entertain his wish. Yediyurappa’s other son, BY Raghavendra, is an MP for the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency.
