BJP to contest Karnataka Assembly elections under Yeddyurappa's leadership: Rajnath Singh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka under the "leadership" of former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, Union Minister Rajnath Singh announced today. 

Speaking at the BJP's Parivartan Yatra in Bengaluru, the Union Home Minister said, "BJP to fight upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka under BS Yeddyurappa ji's leadership."

Rajnath Singh was accompanied by BJP’s Karnataka unit chief Yeddyurappa, Union Ministers Ananth Kumar and Sadananda Gowda.

The elections for the 225-member house will be held in mid 2018 as the term of the Assembly expires in May.

Earlier, BJP President Amit Shah had announced that Yeddyurappa would be the party’s chief ministerial face in the Assembly polls.

He will face incumbent Siddaramaiah who has announced that this will be his last election. The Congress has announced Siddaramaiah would be the party's face during the 2018 Assembly polls, and is yet to decide on the Chief Ministerial candidate.

Yeddyurappa, 74, is an influential Lingayat leader, who had led the saffron party to its maiden victory in the southern state in 2008. He was forced to resign following charges of corruption against him. 

He floated his own outfit in 2011 which performed poorly in the 2013 Assembly polls but managed to wean away a substantial chunk of the BJP votes, leading to a rout of the saffron party. 

He returned to the BJP fold ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election.