Amit Shah praises BS Yediyurappa, affirms faith in his leadership in likely message to critics

Bengaluru: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday heaped praise on chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s leadership at two public events in Karnataka, in a sign of BJP’s tacit endorsement of his choice of ministers in the recent cabinet expansion.
Shah taking Yediyurappa’s name repeatedly and extolling his leadership qualities is sure to disappoint the chief minister’s bitter critics in his own party who have erupted in anger after Wednesday’s cabinet expansion.

The double engines of Narendra Modi and Yediyurappa will drive Karnataka on the superfast highway of progress and prosperity, Shah said at a Jan Sevak rally in Belagavi.

Shah said it was the combined leadership of Yediyurappa and state BJP president Nalinkumar Kateel that has led to an impressive victory for the party in recent gram panchayat polls. He urged the party cadre to put in hard work to ensure the BJP wins 75% of seats in the taluk and zilla panchayat polls scheduled for May.

Shah backed Yediyurappa even at a closed-door meeting of the BJP core committee on Saturday evening, likely setting at rest any possibility of the party replacing the chief minister in near future.

Yediyurappa returned the compliment to Shah by publicly pledging to bring the BJP back to power in the 2023 assembly polls with more than 150 of the 224 seats, and “form the government on own strength, without depending on anyone”.

With a sense of frustration running high among sections of BJP MLAs as there are five MLCs in the cabinet and many districts ignored, the union minister’s backing of the chief minister may silence his critics only for some time. Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has accused the chief minister of giving in to legislators who black-mailed him with a CD.