Clipped Wings and Restless Loyalists: Why Yediyurappa’s Worries Persist in Karnataka

Nearly a month and a half after BS Yediyurappa returned as Karnataka’s chief minister, party insiders say his authority is far more limited than in his earlier terms, with the BJP high command in New Delhi keeping a firm grip on the state government.

A cabinet shaped by Delhi

Yediyurappa governed alone for 27 days before forming a cabinet of 17 ministers, leaving 16 posts empty. The party leadership then quickly appointed three deputy chief ministers alongside the 76-year-old, making an already complicated power structure more so.

Unlike in the past, few leaders and MLAs now gather at his private residence in Bengaluru, a sign of a shift in the balance of power. People close to him say he cannot hand out major favours or cabinet berths.

A changed party

Until the 2018 assembly election, Yediyurappa was the BJP’s unchallenged leader in the state. In 2008 he became the first to lead the BJP to power in any southern state, and he held sway until he was forced to resign over a mining scam in July 2011. Under the centralised leadership of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, his confidants claim, he has lost much of his autonomy, and the RSS is asserting itself.

A senior BJP leader said the high command had made an exception for him despite his age but wanted to groom new leaders, end family rule and avoid a repeat of the 2008-13 period. Insiders add that BL Santhosh, a key rival, is now the party’s general secretary (organisation) in New Delhi, further weakening Yediyurappa.

Yediyurappa remains the most powerful Lingayat leader, and the community is the BJP’s core support in Karnataka. But the party is grooming other Lingayat leaders and believes other dominant groups, including Vokkaligas and SCs, now back it. An RSS leader argued that even if half the Lingayats followed Yediyurappa in a change of guard, the party could manage with support from other castes.

Pressure from the disqualified MLAs

The 17 disqualified JD(S) and Congress MLAs who helped Yediyurappa fulfil his ambition now want some of them made ministers. With their case before the Supreme Court, he can buy time, but he will face heavy pressure once it is decided. The next cabinet expansion, sources say, will show whether he can reward his loyalists or remain a chief minister without real power.

Background

In the 2018 Karnataka election the BJP won 104 seats, but Yeddyurappa resigned before a trust vote and H. D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) became Chief Minister with Congress support. That government fell in July 2019 and Yeddyurappa returned as Chief Minister.

See also: Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (Secular).

Originally published on 29 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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