BJP falls back on Yediyurappa, makes him ‘mascot’ for Assembly polls

The BJP seems to be falling back on its seasoned oarsman B S Yediyurappa making him a key poll mascot, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as it shores up campaign in poll-bound Karnataka. The octogenarian, who has already announced his retirement from electoral politics, is sought to be put on the pedestal by the governing party’s central leaders. The reasons are not far to seek as to why Yediyurappa has been pushed to the top of the campaign plank, the four-time Chief Minister, who built the party from grassroots level, has a mass appeal and connect — particularly the political influential Lingayat community — that no other party leader in the State commands. It’s now quite evident from the BJP’s campaign narrative that the party is banking on the ”Yediyurappa factor” and putting him up as the ”poster boy” by leveraging his clout to the hilt. The BJP central leadership — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party President J P Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh — have been lavish in their praise of Yediyurappa, during their public meetings in the State in recent days.