Yeddyurappa quits BJP, says the party stabbed him in the back

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, Nov 30, 2012: Dealing a severe blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in South India, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Friday ended his 40-year-long relationship with the party. He formally resigned from the party and faxed the letter to BJP President Nitin Gakdari. He has also quit from the Karnataka Assembly.

After announcing his resignation from the BJP, the 70-year-old Lingayat leader addressed his supporters at the freedom park in Bangalore. Four BJP MLAs, two MPs and three MLCs shared the dais with him. Yeddyurappa said that the BJP had stabbed him in the back.

 

 

"Some of our state leaders stabbed me in the back. So many things have happened, I tolerated everything for one year. Finally I took the decision to float a new party," Yeddyurappa said.

Playing the secular card, he said only a strong regional party was capable of developing Karnataka. "This party is for Hindus, Muslims and Christians, this party is for everyone. Look at other states in the country like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. All these states have strong regional parties, only when we have 20 MPs we can ensure that the Centre will give enough funds to develop the state," said Yeddyurappa.

The entire BJP unit from Yeddyurappa’s assembly constituency Shikaripura in Shimoga district has quit to join his new party. They have even taken over the local BJP office. Yeddyurappa will formally launch his own outfit, the Karnataka Janata Party, on December 9.

From being BJP’s only MLA 25 years ago to BJP’s first chief minister in the South, BS Yeddyurappa has seen it all. The powerful public orator and political organiser almost single-handedly built the saffron party in Karnataka over 30 years. This is not a small achievement in a state that was completely opposed to right wing politics till the mid 1990s.

Yeddyurappa got his first taste of power in 2006 to occupy coveted seats on the treasury benches, first as Deputy Chief Minister in a JDS-BJP coalition government and 20 months later, as Chief Minister for just seven days before he was toppled by the Gowdas.

Riding on a sympathy wave, Yeddyurappa led BJP to a spectacular victory in the 2008 assembly polls. Things started deteriorating though, a year after he took charge. Scams in all sectors, from mining to land grants, became a regular feature. Never-ending internal rebellions further spoiled his party.

Yeddyurappa finally quit as chief minister in July 2011. And after nearly 40 years in the right-wing party, he’s now on his own with a plan to fight the coming assembly polls under the new Karnataka Janata Party (KJP).