Bengaluru: The huge turnout at the BS Yediyurappa Abhimanotsava in Chitradurga last week reaffirmed the continuing influence of the BJP veteran on party workers and the Lingayat community, but it also revived debate over the party’s dependence on its tallest state leader. Despite retiring from electoral politics, the event, organised to mark 50 years of the 83-year-old leader’s public career, drew lakhs of supporters, besides senior BJP functionaries, including Union home minister Amit Shah. While BJP projected the gathering as a tribute to Yediyurappa’s role in building the party in the state, political observers said the scale of mobilisation exposed the party’s continuing struggle to move beyond his political legacy. The event was also viewed as a significant show of strength for his son and state BJP president BY Vijayendra, who has faced resistance from sections within the party following the BJP’s poor performance in a series of bypolls since 2023. Political analyst Prof Harish Ramaswamy said prolonged dependence on a single face always weakens the natural emergence of second-line leadership in political parties. “Any party in a democracy must be dynamic,” he said. “If a dynastic component gets involved, it stalls this process.” He said over-reliance on one individual for decades often affects organisational renewal. “We need laws restricting the term of office for individuals and inducing second-line leadership,” he said. However, political strategist MB Maramkal, former media adviser to Yediyurappa, argued that BJP’s central brass consciously moved towards a model that avoids over-dependence on regional strongmen. “Karnataka BJP is in disarray for various reasons. Initially, the BJP high command was worried about BSY’s legacy but after succeeding in states without projecting a chief ministerial face, it is confident of winning elections without depending on a regional functionary,” he said, adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah increasingly preferred a centralised electoral strategy. “After the bitter experiment with Yediyurappa, Modi and Shah reportedly decided not to encourage very strong second-line regional leadership,” he said, citing examples from West Bengal, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Prof Ravindra Reshme, a political analyst, said instead of relying on the legacy of Yediyurappa, Karnataka BJP should instead build a fresh political narrative around Modi. “The party has failed to effectively project Modi’s OBC identity, governance record, and policy initiatives effectively,” he said. “BJP functionaries rarely foreground Modi-centric messaging, allowing Congress’ AHINDA politics to dominate discourse.” Despite the successful mobilisation in Chitradurga, factional tensions within BJP remain unresolved. Since Yediyurappa stepped down as chief minister in 2021, the party has witnessed recurring friction between members aligned with Vijayendra and rival camps led by senior state and national functionaries. Though Vijayendra attempted to bring all warring leaders together for the event, some key faces were missing, while some others attended largely due to Shah’s presence. Sources admit that while the Abhimanotsava energised cadres ahead of the 2028 assembly elections, organisational divisions continue to persist. A senior BJP functionary said the party’s biggest challenge before the next assembly polls is to maintain unity while building leadership beyond Yediyurappa’s towering influence.
