"I'm giving up my Assembly seat to support my son BY Vijayendra. I implore Shikaripura voters to ensure that he wins by a wide margin. I am not running in the next election," said the Karnataka BJP leader.
BS Yediyurappa, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party politician and former Karnataka chief minister, stated on Friday that he will hand over his Assembly constituency to his son BY Vijayendra and will not run in the next state elections. Yediyurappa stated that his son will now run for the Shikaripura Assembly constituency in the state's Shivamogga district. The BJP veteran urged the people of the state to vote for his son Vijayendra in the next election.
"I'm giving up my Assembly seat to support my son BY Vijayendra. I implore Shikaripura voters to ensure that he wins by a wide margin. I am not running in the next election," said the Karnataka BJP leader. Yediyurappa's remark came a day after he denied being marginalised by the party in power in the southern state. Yediyurappa also stated on Thursday that he will not allow the Congress to gain power in Karnataka.
"Congress politicians are rushing to become Chief Minister," Yediyurappa stated, presumably alluding to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. "We will not allow it to happen. The BJP will retake power in Karnataka," he said.
While ecstatic Vijayendra supporters rejoiced at Shimoga district headquarters, some of BSY's ardent BJP fans implored him not to withdraw from electoral career. Vijayendra told the media that he would accept his father's offer in order to safeguard the family's reputation. BY Raghavendra, his elder brother, already represents Shimoga in the Lok Sabha.
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For the last 38 years, Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa, or BS Yediyurappa, or simply BSY, has been a mainstay in Karnataka politics. Since 1983, BSY has won eight Assembly elections in Shikaripura. He only lost to Congress once, in 1999. In 2014, he was also a Lok Sabha member from Shimoga. In 2014, his son Raghavendra won Shikaripura Assembly bypolls on a BJP ticket.
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