Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), also known as B.S. Yediyurappa or BSY, is an Indian politician who served four terms as the chief minister of Karnataka from 2007 to 2022 as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, though his tenure was not continuous.
In 2008, Yediyurappa resumed office as the Chief Minister of Karnataka after leading the BJP to victory in the legislative assembly elections, marking the first time the party formed a state government in South India. In 2011, he resigned after being indicted in a corruption case. The case was progressively dismissed between 2012 and 2016 following High Court rulings. In 2012, alleging ill-treatment by the BJP high command, Yediyurappa left the party to establish his own political party, the Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP).
In 2014, he merged the KJP with the BJP and was subsequently elected to the 16th Lok Sabha from the Shimoga constituency. He later resigned from the Lok Sabha following the Karnataka Legislative Assembly state election held in 2018, after which he was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka for the third time. However, he failed to secure a majority in the Assembly and resigned two days later. H. D. Kumaraswamy subsequently took the oath as Chief Minister. In July 2019, the Kumaraswamy government lost its majority following the resignation of 17 MLAs. Yediyurappa was soon elected as the chief minister and consolidated his majority in the by-elections later that year.
Yediyurappa resigned from office on 26 July 2021, on the second anniversary of his fourth term. He was succeeded by Basavaraj Bommai on 28 July 2021.
Personal life Yediyurappa was born on 27 February 1943 in the village of Bookanakere, located in the Mandya district of the former Kingdom of Mysore, then part of British India. His parents were Siddalingappa and Puttathayamma. His mother died when he was four. He completed his pre-university college education at the Government College in Mandya, affiliated with the University of Mysore.
Since his youth, Yediyurappa has been affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation, as well as the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a Hindu nationalist political party which was the political arm of the RSS and the precursor to the BJP.
In 1965, Yediyurappa moved to Shikaripura, where he began working as a clerk at a relative's rice mill. In 1967, Yediyurappa married Mythradevi, the daughter of a rice mill owner. He has two sons, B. Y. Raghavendra and B. Y. Vijayendra, and three daughters: Arunadevi, Padmavati and Umadevi. Mythradevi died in 2004.
In 2007, he changed the spelling of his name from "Yediyurappa" to "Yeddyurappa", following the advice of his astrologers. He later returned to the original spelling, Yediyurappa, before the oath-taking ceremony of his fourth term as chief minister of Karnataka in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, he contracted COVID-19 but recovered soon afterwards.
Political career
Early political career Since his youth, B.S. Yediyurappa has been affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation, as well as the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a Hindu nationalist political party that was the political arm of the RSS and the precursor to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Early political career and local offices (1972–1988) In 1972, Yediyurappa was elected to the Shikaripura Town Municipality and appointed president of the Jana Sangh Taluk unit. He became president of the town municipality in 1975 and was later imprisoned in Ballari and Shimoga during the Emergency. He served as president of the Shikaripura taluk unit of the BJP in 1980, the Shimoga district unit in 1985, and the Karnataka state unit in 1988. First elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in 1983, he represented Shikaripur for six terms. He served as Leader of the Opposition following the 1994 elections and again in 2004. Between these terms, he was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council from 2000 to 2004.
Coalition government with JD(S) and deputy chief ministership (2006–2007) During his first tenure in government, Yediyurappa supported Janata Dal (Secular) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy in bringing down the coalition government led by Dharam Singh and forming a new administration in partnership with the BJP. As part of the agreement between the JD(S) and BJP, it was decided that H. D. Kumaraswamy would serve as chief minister for the first 20 months, followed by Yediyurappa for the subsequent 20 months. In the Kumaraswamy-led government, Yediyurappa held the positions of Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister.
Breakdown of coalition and brief chief ministership (2007)
In October 2007, when it was Yediyurappa's turn to become chief minister, Kumaraswamy refused to relinquish his post. As a result, Yediyurappa and ministers from his party resigned, and on 5 October, the BJP formally withdrew its support to the Kumaraswamy government. Karnataka came briefly under President's rule, but Yediyurappa was sworn in as chief minister of Karnataka on 12 November 2007 after the JD(S) and BJP reached an agreement. However, JD(S) disagreed over the sharing of ministries and resigned as chief minister on 19 November 2007.
Assembly election and first full term as chief minister (2008–2011) In Karnataka's 2008 Assembly elections, Yediyurappa contested from Shikaripura against former chief minister S. Bangarappa of the Samajwadi Party who was also backed by the Indian National Congress and JD(S). However Yediyurappa won the seat and BJP won state victory, as Karnataka became the gateway for the BJP in south India. He became chief minister on 30 May 2008.
Lokayukta investigation and resignation (2011) On 30 July 2011, the Karnataka Lokayukta submitted a report investigating illegal mining in the state,Full text: Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Karnataka. Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 20 August 2011. indicting Yediyurappa for illegally profiteering from land deals in Bengaluru and Shimoga, and also in connection with the illegal iron ore export scam in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka. Following pressure from the BJP central leadership, he announced his decision to quit, and formally resigned on 31 July 2011. Ananth Kumar, Shobha Karandlaje, Jagadish Shettar and S. Suresh Kumar were in the race to succeed him. He was replaced as chief minister by Sadananda Gowda.
Formation of Karnataka Janata Paksha (2012–2013) He resigned his position as a Member of Legislative Assembly and primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party on 30 November 2012 and formally launched the Karnataka Janata Paksha.Yediyurappa joining Karnataka Janata Party for sure, claims founder. He was elected as an MLA from Shikaripura Constituency (Shimoga district) in May 2013.
Return to BJP and parliamentary career (2014–2017) In November 2013, it was announced that he was considering an unconditional return to the BJP. On 2 January 2014 he announced a merger with BJP ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He won the Shimoga seat of Karnataka in the 2014 Indian general election by a margin of 363,305 votes.
In 2016, the BJP re-appointed him as the President of the Karnataka state BJP unit. He was BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election. However, the party secured 104 seats, falling nine short of a simple majority.
During the aftermath of the 2018 Karnataka Legislative assembly elections, Yediyurappa was invited to form the government and become the chief minister by the Governor citing that his party was the largest in the house. He was sworn in on 17 May 2018 by the Governor Vajubhai Vala, becoming the chief minister of Karnataka for the third time. He was given 15 days to prove majority by the governor, but the Supreme Court intervened, ordering a floor test (trust vote) after 24 hours. The trust vote was to be held on 19 May 2018 at 4 pm. Before the trust vote was to begin, Yediyurappa gave an emotional speech and resigned citing that he would be unable to produce a majority. He thus became one of the shortest-serving chief ministers in India with just days in office.
Fourth term and political crisis (2019)
Due to turmoil in the coalition government of JDS and Congress, 16 MLAs submitted their resignation to the government, turning it into a minority. MLA Ramalinga Reddy was convinced to join back the fold. On 23 July 2019, after 18 days of debate, the coalition government stepped down after losing the trust vote, allowing Yediyurappa and the BJP to stake a claim for government formation. Yediyurappa was invited by Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala on 26 July to form the new government and took an oath as the chief minister of the state for the fourth time.
The by-polls for these 15 out of the 17 constituencies were conducted on 5 December 2019, where all the parties campaigned strongly. Yediyurappa promised the voters that each candidate would be awarded a ministry if the people voted for them. The results were declared on 9 December. BJP and its leader Yediyurappa won 12 out of the 15 contested seats, thereby gaining a full majority, and a total of 117/224 assembly seats in the 2019 Karnataka Legislative Assembly by-elections.
Floods (2019) Soon after he took oath as the chief minister, the state was hit by severe floods. During the 2019 Karnataka floods, Karnataka received nearly five times its normal rainfall, adding to the severity of ongoing floods in 12 districts that had killed 20 people by 9 August 2019. Thousands of people were evacuated to relief camps and hundreds were displaced. The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority and Karnataka Police, along with the Indian Air Force, civilians, volunteers, and fishermen from coastal Karnataka took part in the rescue operations. Yediyurappa visited the affected areas around the state and announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the family members of those who died and lost houses in the floods. On 4 October 2019, the Central Government had released an amount of 1200 Crores as Karnataka flood relief funds on the request of Yediyurappa.
Economic engagement and international outreach (2020) Early in 2020, Yediyurappa visited Davos accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and attended the annual meet of World Economic Forum 2020. He, along with the Industries Minister of the state Jagadish Shettar, attracted investments for the Global Investors' Meet to be held in November in the IT-hub of Bangalore. Yediyurappa also led a delegation from Karnataka in the hope of attracting more investors to set up shop or expand their facilities in the state. The chief minister said that the state had received positive response from corporations such as French 3D design company Dassault Systèmes, aircraft maker Lockheed Martin, steelmaker ArcelorMittal, LuLu Group International and pharmaceutical major Novo Nordisk among others.
Legislation and policy initiatives (2020) In December 2020, the Government of Karnataka, under his leadership passed the Anti Cow-Slaughter Bill 2020, with the aim to protect and nurture cattle in the state that were allegedly being slaughtered illegally. The legislation empowered the police to inspect and seize vehicles that transport cattle and the premises where they are slaughtered. The new law brought stern punishment of imprisonment of up to 3 years and a penalty of 50,000 rupees. Amid opposition from the Congress members who staged a walk-out protest, the bill was passed unanimously in the floor of the house and the law came into effect in the state.
COVID-19 response (2020–2021)