With Tears Flowing Down, Yeddy Goes Down With Emotional Speech

Goodbye for now, but I will be back, said emotional Yeddy as he quit the CM post.

In a farewell speech soaked in tears and emotion in the Karnataka Assembly, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today quit minutes before the trust vote was to take place. Soon after, he drove straight to the Raj Bhavan where he tendered his resignation to Governor Vajubhai Vala.

Playing the martyr’s card to the hilt, Yeddyurappa told the Assembly that for the second time he is being denied to serve the people due to the scheming of the Congress and the JD(S)

With tears flowing down and voice chocked, the 75 year old Lingayat leader and 48 hour CM said he was not after power; all that he wanted was to serve the farmers of Karnataka and those in distress due to water crisis. “Farmers were committing suicide and I wanted to bring a stable government to end the misery of the farming community. There is serious agrarian crisis gripping the state and the Congress is just not bothered,” he added.  

And in a vengeful tone he said: “I will travel across the state non-stop. We have received tremendous love and support from across the state. For 2019, I promise, we will win 28 out of all 28 Lok Sabha seats. I won’t relent. I will continue to fight”.

Therein lies the BJP-RSS strategy. They have lost the present battle but intends to win the big war ahead.

BJP lost the present battle but they intends to win the big war ahead

His speech was meant to echo and resonate in the near future. With the BJP unable to cobble up numbers or wean away the Congress or the JD(S) MLAs, Yeddyurappa lost in the Assembly but may win the sympathy of his powerful Lingayat community and a large section of the electorate who put him within striking distance of victory.

Taking a leaf out of what Vajpayee did in the Lok Sabha in 1996, Yeddyurappa used the opportunity to slam the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government that neglected development, was mired in corruption and cared nothing for the welfare of the people of Karnataka. “At 75, I have been going round the state where I found only misery”, he said even as Siddaramaiah sat glum and helpless.

Yeddyurappa slammed the Congress-JDS tie-up and said: “Those who were swearing on the names of each other’s fathers and calling each other names before polls, have now come together to form this unholy alliance”

Whatever happens, he said he will continue to serve the people of the state with renewed vigour. He said he bows before the electorate for having showered love and faith in the BJP.

The outgoing CM said the Congress and JD(S) had kept their MLAs captive. They did not have the backing of the people, now the two parties do not have faith in their own MLAs.

Yeddyurappa said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah have been striving continuously to develop Karnataka. All this has come to nothing, he said in disgust and despair.

In a repeat of what happened in 2007 when Yeddyurappa just walked out of the House when he did not have the numbers after H D Kumaraswamy refused to hand over the reigns of power under a power-sharing agreement, BSY resigned when his best efforts to get the Lingayat members of the Congress and the JD(S) failed.

The marriage of convenience between the Congress and the JD(S) may not last long as both the parties have serious differences when it comes to sharing power. The only thing that brought them together was power and the burning desire to keep the BJP out. Now that they have power and the BJP out, what next is the question.

Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to enter into the legislative space over the appointment of KG Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker by Governor Vajubhai Valla. Dismissing the Congress-JD(S) petition, the court point blank asked the petitioners if they wanted a floor test or confusion. The court also pointed out that appointing a pro-tem speaker was the prerogative of the Governor and that appointing the senior-most MLA as pro-tem speaker was only a convention, not law.

Even as the case was going on, the pro-tem speaker administered oath to all the MLAs. There was some last minute tension as Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda were holed up in a hotel in the city.

The BJP had hoped desperately that the Lingayat MLAs of Congress and JD(S) might cross-vote in favour of the trust vote or abstain. This is because their political future will be at stake if they incur the community’s wrath. But that did not happen,

It is a fact that these Lingayat MLAs were upset with Congress plan to divide the community. They are also very upset that the Congress is siding with the JD(S), a Vokaliga party which is perceived as  anti-Lingayat. Moreover, they do not want carry the blame for denying the CM’s post to Yeddyurappa, the tallest and unchallenged leader of the community. How long will this section remain quiet is to be seen.

Many feel that Yeddyurappa’s defeat will lead to a further consolidation of Lingayat and Hindutava votes behind BJP ahead of Lok Sabha elections.