Pictures: Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, May 26: Reaping a golden harvest for the BJP in Karnataka, B S Yeddyurappa gave wings to a long cherished dream — his as well as the party’s — to set up the first-ever saffron government in the South.
For the 66-year-old leader from a farmer’s family, it is a sweet victory after the ignominious seven-day tenure as chief minister, courtesy JD(S) which played hide and seek with a power-sharing agreement between the two parties.
He sowed the seeds of the saffron brigade when its philosophy was still alien in a state dominated largely by Congress and Janata politics.
Considered the man with a midas touch who dreamt big and took his party along despite the humiliation at the hands of the JD(S), Yeddyurappa is savouring every minute of the party’s victorious moments.
An astute politician known for his organisational skills, he had led a peasant movement. His grassroot experience helped him to build a party base and feel the changing pulse of the people. Yeddyurappa made his political debut when he turned an active member of the RSS, learning the initial ropes and mass leadership from the organisation.
From the Vokkaliga hotbed of Mandya to Shimoga, the heartland of Malnad region, he has come a long way. Yeddyurappa, a hard-core RSS worker, is today known more as the BJP leader from Shimoga.
He moved to Shikaripur in Shimoga as he was deputed by RSS to build the cadre there. Since 1965, the bond between Shikaripur and Yeddyurappa grew stronger. This has also groomed the RSS worker to plunge into politics. Before he was elected to the assembly in 1993 from Shikaripura on a BJP ticket, he had his grounding as a municipality member.
He has been representing Shikaripura ever since, except in 1999 when he lost the seat to Congress.
Can Mandya stake the claim for giving a second chief minister to Karnataka after S M Krishna? Or will the credit go to Shimoga? For Yeddyurappa is a Mandya-Shimoga man. He was born in Bookanakere village of K R Pet taluk in Mandya, but wears the Shimoga tag.
Born to B M Siddalinga Shetty and Puttathayamma on April 23, 1943, Yeddyurappa did his schooling in Mandya. His elder brother Mahadevappa still lives in the village and is a farmer. Yeddyurappa’s kin recall that he was active in studies and sports. He loved to play kabaddi and was good at it. Even after migrating to Shimoga, he has not forgotten his village, they say. He has sanctioned Rs 1.63 crore for the renovation of Kapanahalli Gavi Mutt, the village deity, and the Kaivalyashwara temple.
"Our village has been selected under the Suvarna Gram Yojana," Mahadevappa said. The primary school, where he studied, is in a dilapidated state and the village is hoping that after becoming the CM, this too will draw his attention.