Amidst rising feud within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s breakfast meeting at former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s house sends a strong message: Yediyurappa cannot be sidelined or insulted and still holds relevance in the state. This comes just days after a public spat between BJP national general secretary CT Ravi and Yediyurappa's son Vijayendra.
Amit Shah, who is on a two-day visit to the poll-bound state, was greeted by Yediyurappa, when he arrived at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru on Friday, March 24. Shah, immediately after getting out of his vehicle, insisted that the former Karnataka CM let his son and state BJP Vice President B Y Vijayendra, hand him the bouquet and welcome him. Shah went on to hold Vijayendra close as the duo posed for the cameras.
CT Ravi has been making statements to undermine Yediyurappa and his family. In July 2022, Yediyurappa, who is considered as a Lingayat strongman, had publicly announced that his son Vijayendra would contest from the Shikaripura assembly seat, from where Yediyurappa himself has won eight times. However, CT Ravi in a recent diatribe against Yeddiyurappa and Vijayendra contradicted this and said that, “Party tickets are not decided in anybody’s kitchen. In BJP, tickets are not given because you are the son of somebody.”
Ravi is also widely seen as a close aide of BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh, who has been Yeddiyurappa’s rival for a long time. Party insiders feel that the rivalry between Ravi and Vijayendra is in fact a proxy war between Yediyurappa and Santhosh, over who holds greater influence in the party’s Karnataka unit.
It is against this backdrop that Amit Shah’s visit to Yeddiyurappa’s residence assumes significance.