Bengaluru: It will be a proud moment for the BJP’s CM candidate for the 2018 assembly polls, B.S. Yeddyurappa, when he along with other BJP MPs proposes the name of Ram Nath Kovind for the presidential poll. Mr Yeddyurappa reached New Delhi on Tuesday and has already met Mr Kovind.
Yeddyurappa, considered the top leader of the upper caste Lingayat community in Karnataka, has been handpicked by party national president Amit Shah to be one of the proposers when Mr Kovind files his nomination on June 23. The former Chief Minister has launched a dalit-outreach programme in Karnataka and has been visiting houses of dalits and having breakfast or meals with them during his state-wide tour launched last month in an attempt to break caste barriers.
Yeddyurappa knows more than anyone else that the dalit vote could tilt the scales in many constituencies in the state.
By making Yeddyurappa propose the name of Kovind, a Dalit, the BJP would like to send a message to the community in Karnataka that they should no longer be considered a party of upper castes which has cost them many an election in the past.
“This is definitely a move to create positive vibes among Dalits vis-a-vis Mr Yeddyurappa,” sources explained.
