BENGALURU: Eventually, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa succeeded over his State BJP leaders in getting his name “dropped” from naming the new airport in Shivamogga after him.
Now, the Shivamogga airport will be named after national poet Kuvempu and the inauguration of the airport will be by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 27. Already, a University in Shivamogga has been named after Kuvempu established in 1987. The University is spread in about 230 acres and its campus is called “Jnana Sahyadri.”
Disclosing about naming the airport in Shivamogga, Yediyurappa told reporters that Shivamogga airport will be named after Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa (Kuvempu), a national poet who penned the State’s anthem.
Kuvempu belongs to Shivamogga district and from Vokkaliga community, a politically dominant community of the State.
Earlier, the State cabinet had decided to name the newly constructed airport in Shivamogga after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and the move to name the airport after Yediyurappa was seen as a step to “please” the disgruntled Yediyurappa.
Yediyurappa is said to be unhappy with the BJP national leaders after he was removed as the Chief Minister in 2021. Basavaraj Bommai, a Home Minister in Yediyurappa’s cabinet, succeeded him as the Chief Minister. Yediyurappa’s dreams to make his son B.Y. Vijayendra's entry into Basavaraj Bommai ministry also went in vain and both the factors made Yediyurappa to distance himself from the party activities.
In a bid to pacify a disgruntled Yediyurappa, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had announced twice that the newly constructed airport in Shivamogga will be named after B.S. Yediyurappa who represented Shivamogga in Lok Sabha and also represented Shikaripura Assembly seat (Shivamogga) in the Assembly.
After the first announcement by the Chief Minister in 2022, Yediyurappa in a letter expressed to the Chief Minister “drop” considering his name for Shivamogga airport and the airport be named after any “illustrious” personality who served the society.
Again, a couple of days back, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that the Shivamogga airport will be named after Yediyurappa.
