Yeddyurappa to resign from BJP today, launch his own party soon

Bangalore: Rebel BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa will resign from the party and his assembly membership on Friday.

“I will go in a march along with my supporters to Vidhana Sabha tomorrow at 12 noon and submit resignation to my assembly membership”, Yeddyurappa, who has rejected calls to remain in BJP, told reporters at Shikaripura, his home town in Shimoga district.

Yeddyurappa’s exit is expected to put the BJP at a crossroads, but the party leaders have put up a
“I have asked Ministers, MPs and MLAs not to attend the party launch. I want Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar led ministry to complete its term”, Yeddyurappa said in a bid to avoid any disciplinary action by BJP against his supporters. Yeddyurppa and his loyalists have been claiming that at least 50 legislators were keen on joining KJP.

All efforts by top BJP leadership including its President Nitin Gadkari and senior leader Arun Jaitley to prevent the “worst”, failed to pacify the agitated Yeddyurappa, who was axed from chief ministership in 2011 in the wake of allegations of corruption.

Yeddyurappa turned more belligerent after BJP rebuffed his repeated attempts to regain Chief Ministership and refused to at least make him the state unit party chief. Enraged over what he called as “betrayal” by his party leaders, Yeddyurappa decided to bid a good bye to BJP and float his regional party.

Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa began his political stint when he was elected as President of the Shikaripura Taluk erstwhile Jana Sangha in 1972 and won his first assembly poll in 1983.