Yediyurappa rules out his son contesting from Varuna, says he will enter fray from Shikaripura

BJP strongman BS Yediyurappa on Friday took a roundabout and said that his son BY Vijayendra will not contest from Varuna against Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah.

Yediyurappa insisted that Vijayendra will replace him at Shikaripura.

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This U-turn came a day after Yediyurappa dropped a big hint that Vijayendra's name is being discussed for the BJP's Varuna ticket against Siddaramaiah.

"There's a lot of pressure that Vijayendra must contest from Varuna. But I had said earlier that in spite of the pressure to contest from Varuna, [Vijayendra] must stand in Shikaripura. So, there's no question of him contesting from Varuna," Yediyurappa said.

"Vijayendra will contest from Shikaripura, which is my constituency. I've told him that he should contest from Shikaripura. I'll inform the high command as well," Yediyurappa added.

The Congress has fielded Siddaramaiah from Varuna and it is widely speculated that Vijayendra, a BJP vice-president, can give him a run for his money. But Yediyurappa's insistence that his son make his Assembly debut from Shikaripura has raised eyebrows in political circles.

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Buzz in the BJP circles is that Yediyurappa's suggestion that Vijayendra could be the Varuna candidate did not sit well with the party's central leadership.

Last year, Yediyurappa announced his political retirement. He even announced Vijayendra as the BJP candidate from Shikaripura, a seat Yediyurappa has represented eight times since 1983. The next day, Yediyurappa clarified that the party central leadership will decide on Vijayendra's ticket.

It is also said that Yediyurappa is wary of his detractors within the BJP spoiling Vijayendra's prospects. Shikaripura will be a "safe" seat for Vijayendra.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, Vijayendra was denied the ticket to contest from Varuna against the then chief minister Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra. Since then, Vijayendra carved a niche for himself by engineering BJP’s victories in constituencies that were believed to be impossible.

"Nothing is impossible," Vijayendra told reporters when asked if Siddaramaiah can be defeated in Varuna and cited examples of BJP's wins at KR Pet (Mandya) and Sira (Tumakuru).

"The BJP has a strong base in Varuna. We have our cadre and workers are enthused to make the BJP win irrespective of who the candidate is," Vijayendra said. "But should Vijayendra contest? If he should, then from where? This will be decided by the party's central leadership," he said.