Bangalore: The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) remarkable success in the Delhi Assembly elections which was fought on the issue of corruption, could hamper the chances of former Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa being reinducted in the BJP.
Highly placed sources in the state BJP told this newspaper that senior BJP leaders including party patriarch L.K. Advani who were opposing the re-entry of Yeddyurappa, may make the best of the AAP success story to prevent the former CM's return.
They could highlight the Congress defeat in Delhi to contend that the urban middle class had zero tolerance for corruption and assert that Yeddyurappa who is facing several scam cases, could only spoil their chances in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Realising that the mood of BJP central leaders may not be in his favour after the Delhi Assembly election results, Yeddyurappa appeared cautious while dealing with the issue of KJP's merger with BJP. During the KJP state executive committee meeting held here on Tuesday, the Lingayat strongman said that he had the power to fight at least two elections in the days to come and added that he would not bow before anyone.
He seemed to be trying to send a message to BJP central leaders that if they were reluctant to take him back, he had the potential to damage the saffron party's prospects in the Lok Sabha elections, especially in north Karnataka.
Several KJP workers, who attended the meeting, had expected Yeddyurappa to announce the decision on the merger. But his speech indicated that the former CM was keeping all options open considering the possibility of the BJP refusing to admit him citing the AAP story in Delhi.
Sources said the central leadership is in a Catch-22 situation as it cannot drag its feet on the Yeddyurappa issue any longer. With the state leadership officially requested central leaders to ensure his reinduction, a decision will have to be taken very soon, the sources said.
