Bangalore:
BS Yeddyurappa's Karnataka Janata Party or KJP was not expected to perform brilliantly in the state elections held on Sunday, but there is no ignoring him. The BSY factor figures in every political discussion in the state.
In Karnataka, the BJP was for years associated with Mr Yeddyuruappa, the man who led it to form its first ever government in south India. He dominated the scene and defied his party leadership with impunity when he was asked to step down on corruption charges after the state Lokayukta charged him with profiteering from illegal mining in the state. Mr Yeddyurappa eventually quit as Chief Minister in July 2011.
He was arrested later that year and spent close to three weeks in jail. Upon his release, he sought to be re-instated as Chief Minister, but the BJP leadership did not oblige. Nor did it give him a prominent post in the party's state outfit. Mr Yeddyurappa finally quit his party of 40 years in November 2012 and took along with him his staunchest supporters and formed the KJP in December.
He had then claimed that his party would win the Assembly elections but his bravado was perhaps premature. In the urban local body elections held in March, the KJP flopped. Mr Yeddyurappa failed to demonstrate influence anywhere save in Gulbarga, where his party won seven wards. The Congress was the big winner then, winning the majority of seats.
In Sunday's state elections, the KJP perhaps hurt the BJP most -- dividing the votes of Mr Yeddyurappa's powerful Lingayat community, considered a BJP stronghold.
Ever the political pragmatist, Mr Yeddyurappa had started reaching out to other players in Karnataka even as he was exiting the BJP. He paid the Congress several compliments, perhaps seeking to open new doors as one shut behind him. How many seats his KJP bags on Wednesday will determine Mr Yeddyurappa's political clout and future in Karnataka's politics.