Yeddyurappa sworn-in as K'taka CM

(Source: www.ibnlive.com)

Ushering in a new era for BJP in the South, Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa was on Friday sworn-in the Chief Minister of Karnataka, embarking upon his second innings as the head of the state in a gap of little over six-months.

This is the first time that BJP is forming a government on its own in Karnataka and South India.

Taking the betrayal by his former coalition partner JDS which pulled him out of power barely a week after assuming office in November last as a challenge, Yediyurappa, who re-christened himself as Yeddyurappa, prompted by numerologists advice, successfully ensured the saffron surge by hitting a campaign trail soon after demitting office.

His efforts in convincing the electorate in the just-concluded Assembly polls, sounded a reveille for the BJP workers and a requiem for his political rivals, who could only trail behind the leader and not overtake him.

The 66-year-old Lingayat leader not only had the onerous task of steering the party to victory, but also to quell a unified challenge thrown by his political adversaries, Congress and JDS to defeat him in his home turf Shikaripura by supporting Samajwadi Party leader and former Chief Minister S Bangarappa.

In the end, Yeddyurappa emerged with flying colours, anchoring his party to a spectacular success.

The BJP cadre credits Yeddyurappa with giving the saffron party, which had been in the rank of opposition a taste of power.

Yeddyurappa, who sensed the collapse of Congress-JDS government in 2006, clinched a power-sharing pact with JDS but it collapsed after 20 months.

The six-time winner from Shikapura, Yeddyurappa made his debut in public life through the erstwhile Jana Sangh when he was elected President of the Shikaripura Taluk in 1972.

In 1983, he entered the state assembly and his party's feat of winning 18 seats also saw the emergence of the first ever non-Congress government led by late Ramakrishna Hegde, which the BJP supported.

Yeddyurappa further bolstered the BJP's image by formulating a slew of welfare schemes targeted at women, senior citizens and poor when he was the Deputy Chief Minister in the JDS-BJP coalition government, which ultimately paid off as the party came close to winning a simple majority on its own in the recent Assembly elections.

Under his leadership, the BJP increased its tally from zero over two decades ago to 110 in the 2008 polls.