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Journalism of Courage
Former Karnataka chief minister and BJP parliamentary board member B S Yediyurappa hinted at a high-profile contest at Varuna constituency in Mysuru district by saying that there were party-level discussions to field his second son, BJP vice-president B Y Vijayendra, from the constituency. The Congress has already announced Opposition leader Siddaramaiah as its candidate from the constituency for the Assembly polls scheduled May 10.
“Discussions are on (about fielding Vijayendra),” Yediyurappa said Thursday, responding to a question on the issue. “Siddaramaiah’s win in the constituency is not assured. We will field a suitable candidate,” he said.
Siddaramaiah, before vacating his seat to his son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah in 2018, has represented the constituency twice in 2008 and 2013, after it was formed in 2008. Though Siddaramaiah had announced that he would likely contest from Kolar, his name featured as a candidate for the Varuna constituency in the first list of candidates announced by the Congress recently.
Vijayendra, meanwhile, was expected to contest from the Shikaripura constituency, which is currently represented by Yediyurappa. The former CM has announced retirement from active politics and had said that Vijayendra would contest from the seat.
In 2018 too, there were claims that Vijayendra would contest from Varuna against Yathindra. However, the BJP leadership had decided to field T Basavraju from the constituency and he lost by a margin of around 59,000 votes.
Yediyurappa, who held a news conference on Thursday, also rejected the results of the opinion polls that gave Congress an edge in the coming Assembly elections. “I know the pulse of the people. BJP will come back with an absolute majority,” he said.
On rumours of legislators who switched sides to BJP in 2019 returning to Congress and JD(S) fold, he said that it was true of “one or two” candidates who will not be fielded by the party in the coming elections. The rest, he said, would stay in the BJP fold.
Reacting to protests over internal reservation for SC communities, Yediyurappa said that such demonstrations were restricted to one or two constituencies. “We will talk to the community and address their concerns,” he said.
Yediyurappa argued that grouping Muslims under the Economically Weaker Sections quota by scrapping the 4 per cent reservation guaranteed under the ‘2B’ category – which the Karnataka Cabinet decided to scrap recently – will benefit them. “I want to clarify that we have not done injustice to Muslims,” he added.
Responding to Vijayendra’s possible candidature against him, Siddaramaiah said that anyone was welcome to contest. “I welcome them,” he said. KPCC president DK Shivakumar said that Congress would welcome it even if Yediyurappa contested.
