His political rivals dread him, his fans adore him. That hardly matters to former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who after a roller-coaster ride, has become the BJP state president again. It is a record in the BJP for a leader who quit the party, to return so soon as state president and also get projected as the CM candidate.
A mellowed Yeddyurappa, surrounded by loyalists like M.P. Renukacharya and Prabhakar Kore, spoke to Deccan Chronicle on a wide range of issues. He vows to change himself for the new job at hand. Here are excerpts from the interview.
Everyone expected the BJP central leadership to take a call on the appointment of the state president after the elections in five states. Your appointment was sudden and surprising. Can you tell us how it happened? What occurred behind the scenes?
We got a call from Amit Shahji to be in Delhi on the day of Ugadi. I and Santoshji(party general secretary) went to meet him in the morning. He had a 15-minute chat with us. He told us that they were going to appoint me as state president. I was surprised when he said the central leadership would make a formal announcement at 3 pm on that day.
It was so sudden that I could not believe it for a while. Mr Shah told me clearly that the responsibility rests on me to take everyone along. I guess in the last three or four months, they got reports from various sources on who should become the new president and almost all reports suggested my name. That’s why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Shah took a decision to appoint me.
Certainly there is something more than what meets the eye...
Nothing else. They (central leaders) were convinced that the only leader who could take on the present Congress government is Yeddyurappa. Two, they thought, I could take leaders and workers forward together. That’s why they decided to appoint me.
Thousands of people come to meet you every day. What do these people tell you?
People all regions, leaders from different castes are coming to greet me. These people have created a festive atmosphere here. They tell me that they prayed for my becoming state president. They are celebrating it as if we have already formed the government. These people tell me that leaders from different parties will join us.
Many leaders inside the party and outside say since you have not come clear in the corruption cases, these cases will play on the minds of the public.
I got relief in many cases. I have the highest respect for the judiciary. I heard this government has decided to go in appeal in fifteen cases which were disposed of in the high court. They want to engage in a witchhunt. Alright, let them do it. Denotification happened since S.M. Krishna’s time. I had denotified land of the common people. (pauses...) Even Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has denotified.
Where did Mr Siddaramaiah denotify?
He has denotified a large tract of land in Arkavathy Layout. What more evidence do you want? Many more scams will come out very soon.
You are a mass leader. There may be many leaders who want to join BJP because of you. The bad elements who spoilt the BJP will also return because you are back at the helm.
I know what you are referring to. I would like to clarify one thing. There is no bar on anyone becoming an ordinary member of the party. If a leader wants to join our party, we will sit together and take a call whether to induct him or not. About giving positions, we will weigh the pros and cons. The eligible, honest and committed will get posts.
You say this now. But to get more seats in the elections, it is quite natural for leaders from other parties to join BJP. They will set conditions and you will agree. In the process, genuine leaders from the party will lose out. That’s what happened last time..
No one can set conditions. If a leader wants to join our party after accepting our principles, he or she is welcome. I will promise you that I will not repeat the mistakes I made in the past. It may happen only in very few seats.
You said you will not repeat the mistakes. What mistakes did you commit in the past?
Quitting the party is an unpardonable offence. Still, the Prime Minister and the party president condoned my mistake. They made me the party president again. It has never happened in the BJP’s history. They gave me an opportunity and I have to live upto the expectations.
The other day, you said the party should focus on south Karnataka. How will you achieve this?
In Kerala, Sangh parivar workers are being murdered by Communists. Still, we are fighting the elections. Compared to Kerala, we are better off in Mandya and Hassan. In districts where we are weak, senior leaders will take charge. We will form teams and they will focus on these districts. We need to go a long way. We will involve community leaders in these districts. I will personally monitor these districts. There was a time when we were strong in Hassan district too. Due to change of leadership, we lost out. Now, we will rebuild.
Moving on, political parties promise a lot before elections but go back on their word once elected. For instance, the Congress party said they would solve the garbage problem within 100 days of assuming power. Nothing happened. Do you have plans to consult experts and come out with a road map to address people’s problems?
When we were in power, we never had a sugarcane crisis. The garbage issue is limited to Bengaluru. No other city has this problem. We will not wait till we come to power. We want things to change now. Certainly we will consult experts. We will fight to make this government work.
Your party celebrated Ambedkar Jayanthi differently. The party also instructed legislators to make the 125th Ambedkar birth anniversary different in their constituencies. But when it comes to sharing power (with Dalits), you dither. Why?
Many people suggested to me to take charge on the holy day of April 14. I took charge on that day. We had shown our commitment to SC and STs when we were in power. We implemented several schemes. We gave cabinet berths to many leaders from these communities. A large contingent of SC MLAs were in the assembly when were in power. The highest number of SC MPs are from the BJP in the present Lok Sabha. When we come back to power, we will certainly give them power. I will see to it that a large number of people from these communities get posts in the party.
Two veterans from the community, Govind Karjol and K.B. Shanappa are in the Assembly and Council respectively. At least one leader should have been made the opposition leader...
In the past, this decision was taken. I will not speak about this. Mr Shanappa is our deputy leader in the Council. But in future, we will certainly honour them.
Finally, you said you are a changed man. What changes have you seen in yourself?
After many experiences, I learnt who is who and how differently people behave under different circumstances. I know now who to keep at arm’s length. The other important thing is anger. I realised that I can tackle many issues without getting angry or agitated. I have mastered the art of taking everyone along. I have to continue this.
