"Yeddyurappa's son posed no threat to me," said Yatheendra Siddaramaiah.
The BJP move to pull out the son of BS Yeddyurappa from Varuna will "make no difference", Congress candidate Dr Yatheendra Siddaramiah told NDTV a day after the BJP unit witnessed a virtual rebellion following the shock announcement. The election at Varuna was expected to be a face-off between the sons of the Congress Chief Minister and the BJP's prospective chief minister - till Mr Yeddyrappa announced last evening that his son won't be contesting.
"Yeddyurappa's son posed no threat to me... Vijayendra has been here only for two weeks," said Siddaramaiah junior -- a doctor who stepped into politics after the sudden death of his elder brother two years ago.
For his debut election, he was given Varuna - the seat held by his father for a decade. The Chief Minister shifted to nearby Chamundeshwari, and as a safety measure, is also contesting from Badami in the north.
Admitting that he is a "political novice" Yatheendra Siddaramaiah said he had worked for the seat. Compared to the short time Yeddyurappa's son spent in Varuna, he said he has spent the last one-and-half years nurturing the seat.
Before him, his brother Rakesh Siddaramaiah -- known to be the political heir of the Chief Minister -- was the one taking care of the seat on behalf of his father.
The reaction of the BJP's local unit has made it clear that the party's ground workers think BY Vijayendra is their best bet against Yatheendra Siddaramaiah. As protests erupted in and around Mysuru, the office bearers held a press conference of their own and announced that the whole of the BJP's Mysuru unit will resign unless BY Yathindra was allowed to contest by this morning.
Despite Mr Yeddyurappa's claims that it was his decision, the local unit also made it clear that they blamed the BJP's central leadership for the change.
While the BJP is yet to name a candidate for Varuna, Mr Yeddurappa said yesterday any candidate will be able to win the election. Today, the party announced a youth wing post for BY Vijayendra to appease him and his father.