BS Yeddyurappa, the poster boy of BJP in Karnataka has been a controversy’s child. Despite having climbed the ladder of success as an activist fighting for the cause of the poor, his rise to power had always been tumultuous and his previous stint as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in a JD(S)-BJP coalition government left an irreversible dent to his image. After having landed behind the bars on charges of corruption to fallout with mother party BJP to forming his political party called KJP and then reconciliation with the BJP, Yeddyurappa has seen many ups and down.
Though the 2018 polls were thought to be an easy walk up to power, the BJP could not realise its dream of planting BJP flag on Kannada soil. Despite emerging as single largest party and then going on to take oath as Chief Minister, BSY’s glory lasted only for 55-hours as he then resigned from the post, without taking floor test where he had to prove his majority by getting mere eight seats.
BSY will go down the pages of history for being the CM for the shortest term, i.e. 55 hours, breaking his own record of seven days in 2007! As he watched the well fought Assembly poll results turn in favour of the Congress and the JD(S) and HD Kumaraswamy ascending to the throne of the CM in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government, he shared a few thoughts with newskarnataka.com.
In this exclusive interview, BSY, the Lingayat strongman said that the Apex Court largely let the BJP down by setting 24 hr deadline to prove the majority.
# Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national President have been pressing for ‘Congress Mukt Bharath’, you seem to be more aggressive against the JD(S) and not the Congress. What is the reason?
Well, I will not talk about the Congress party because I know it fully well that the JD(S) will finish the Congress! An alliance with the JD(S) itself will prove suicidal for the Congress. Just wait and watch how the JD(S) manages to finish the Congress. My target is the JD(S) and the opportunist politics played by the father and sons (HD Devegowda and his sons HD Kumaraswamy and Revanna).
# You seemed to be very confident about proving the majority in the house. What strategies went wrong at the last minute that you refused to take the floor test?
Yes, we were hundred percent confident of proving the majority. It is true that I had approached a couple of MLAs and they had promised support. But, Supreme Court order had an adverse impact on our strategies. We were short of time and we were not in a position to go ahead. The Apex Court let us down largely by setting 24 hour deadline.
# How do you intend to take on this government in coming days?
The BJP will function as a formidable opposition and it will not allow this government to take unilateral or anti-people decisions. As first step, we have set 24 hours deadline to this government to waive off crop loans availed by the farmers. We are determined to expose the unholy nexus between the Congress and the JD(S)- both inside as well as outside the Assembly. We will protest against government whenever it becomes necessary.
# Considering the past equations of the Congress and the JD(S), do you feel this government will complete its term?
I will wait for cabinet expansion of CM Kumaraswamy government. I will refrain from making any statement on the life of this coalition government till then. It is during the cabinet expansion that the state will get a clear picture about the continuity of the government. I will wait for full-fledged government to be in place.
# Do you think claiming stake to form government by you was a hurried decision?
No, I don’t think so, it was not hurried decision or misadventure of the party. Being a single largest party, it was our legitimate right to form government and we only did that. If we had not taken that decision, our passiveness too could have sent out a very wrong message. According to me, party has taken right decision and it was collective decision of the party both at Central and state-level.
# You had earlier said that the BJP will win in 120 seats and you could manage to reach only 104. In at least ten places, the BJP lost with a very narrow margin. Where do you think the party went wrong?
True, we did not expect defeat in few seats. It was unexpected and also shocking for the party to lose those seats that too with such a narrow margin. We have introspected these cases. Financial crunch was not a factor at all. What more can I say, it was just unfortunate that we lost at least a dozen seats with less than a thousand votes.
