BJP will be a formidable force in Karnataka
As the Bharatiya Janata Party heads into 2014, fairly well prepared to contest what will arguably be the most important general election in a generation, it could not have asked for a better New Years present than this: Mr BS Yeddyurappa, one of its tallest leaders, is returning to its fold. The former Chief Minister of Karnataka had almost single-handedly built the party's base in the State and was in fact the first leader from the BJP to head a Government in South India. But he had to leave the party and his high office back in July 2011 after the State lokayukta indicted him on charges of illegal mining. However, two and a half years later there is still no definite proof of any wrong doing on his part. In fact, in May 2012, the Karnataka High Court quashed a portion of the lokayukta report that accused Mr Y of favouring two companies when granting mining leases after the ombudsman failed to produce any evidence connecting the Mr Yeddyurappa to the alleged offence. The lokayukta was even condemned by the court for violating the principles of natural justice. Clearly, there is no reason why Mr Yeddyurappa should shy away from the political centre-stage — especially at such a crucial time in national politics.
As Mr Yeddyurappa has rightly observed, the BJP's position in Karnataka had eroded following his exit from the party and it is only in the fitness of things that he now return to what he calls his “parental” organisation. Few will disagree that he can make a much more significant contribution to the large national cause of good governance by being part of the BJP rather than playing on the outside. From a specific electoral-arithmetic perspective, this has been clear since the results of the 2011 Assembly election in Karnataka. Given Mr Yeddyurappa’s large and powerful vote base in the State, his fledgling Karnataka Janata Paksha was able to garner a respectable 10 per cent of the vote share which translated into six seats in the Assembly. While this was still not enough to qualify as a stellar debut performance for the KJP, it, nevertheless, delivered a damaging blow to the BJP's tally in the State, resulting in a Congress victory.
But with Mr Yeddyurappa now back with the BJP, the party should once again emerge as a formidable force in the State. The former Chief Minister himself remains a popular grass-roots leader and still commands the loyalty of the powerful lingayat community. Moreover, he has also publicly expressed his support for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Mr Narendra Modi. There is enough reason to believe that if the two campaign together in the region, the BJP will be able to retain at least the 19 lok Sabha seats from Karnataka that it secured in the previous election. Ideally though the party should now be able to significantly improve its tally in the State. Karnataka sends as many as 28 MPs to the lok Sabha and might just prove to be a game changer for the party. There is no doubt that Mr Yeddyurappa’s support makes the State a low-hanging fruit for the BJP. But whether the party will be able to secure the gains will depend on how well its leadership is able to integrate Mr Yeddyurappa’s political force (read KJP leaders and workers) into its own election campaign.