Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06CHENNAI295
2006-02-14 11:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:  

NEW KARNATAKA DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER

Tags:  PGOV PINR IN 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6324
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHCG #0295/01 0451130
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141130Z FEB 06
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7422
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1470
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 4694
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA 0447
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000295 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

FOR INR/B AND SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR IN
SUBJECT: NEW KARNATAKA DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER
B.S.YEDIYURAPPA

REF: (A) CHENNAI 00212, (B) CHENNAI 0163

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 000295

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

FOR INR/B AND SCA/INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR IN
SUBJECT: NEW KARNATAKA DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER
B.S.YEDIYURAPPA

REF: (A) CHENNAI 00212, (B) CHENNAI 0163


1. (SBU) SUMARY: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister
Bukanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (age 63),leader of
the Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Karnataka
legislature, took his oath of office on February 3, 2006.
A member of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS),he has headed the Karnataka unit of the BJP
for nine years, a period which saw the party rise from
insignificance to a position as the single largest party
in the state legislature. Known to be ideologically
flexible, he was instrumental in forming the alliance
with Janata Dal (Secular) that enabled him to take
office. Lack of experience in government, however, could
hamper the effectiveness and reduce the longevity of his
government. This message provides biographic information
on Yediyurappa. Reftel A transmitted information on new
Chief Minister Kumaraswamy. END SUMMARY

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WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN MEETING YEDIYURIAPPA
--------------


2. (SBU) Bukanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa's English
ability is limited. He usually dresses casually in home
spun white Khadi, or opts for a safari suit for more
formal occasions. He is known to become upset when
issues such as the alleged persecution of minorities by
the BJP are brought up in discussion. When meeting with
westerners, he tends to be very reticent initially but
opens up when he becomes more comfortable. He is a
member of the dominant Lingayat caste and is a strict
vegetarian. Like many other Indians, he often consults
with astrologers before making important decisions.
Yediyurappa holds a bachelors of arts degree.

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A WIDOWER WITH GROWN CHILDREN
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3. (SBU) A widower, Yediyurappa lost his wife Mythradevi
in October 2004 after she slipped and fell into a water
tank at her family home. He has two sons and three
daughters. His son Vijendra, a one time secretary of
BJP's youth wing, manages a pipe unit and a group of
educational institutions in Shikaripur. His other son
oversees the family farm which is reportedly a few
hundred acres in an area where holding sizes are
typically less than five acres.


--------------
OVERSAW GROWTH OF BJP IN KARNATAKA
--------------



4. (SBU) Yediyurappa emerged on the Karnataka political
scene in 1983 when he was elected as a member of the
state assembly from his home town of Shikaripur in
Shimonga district, where he had been the President of the
local municipality. He held the state assembly seat for
five consecutive terms until 1999, when he was defeated.
In addition to his position in the legislative assembly,
he was President of the BJP in Karnataka from 1989 to
1999, a period of rapid growth for the party. The BJP in
Karnataka progressed from two seats in 1986 to seventy-
nine seats in 2004, making it the single largest party in
the state. His approach to expansion of his party's
electoral base was to run communally divisive campaigns
that helped polarize the Karnataka electorate and expand
the BJP profile in the state. For example, he headed an
agitation that sought to limit participation of Muslims
in commemoration ceremonies associated with a Sufi saint
at Babudangiri. He also led the unsuccessful campaign
that sought to ban U.S evangelist Benny Hinn from
conducting a gospel show in Bangalore in January 2005.

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IDEOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY TAKES HIM TO OFFICE
--------------


5. (SBU) Publicly espousing the Hindutva cause did not
prevent Yediyurappa from opening a dialogue with Janata
Dal (Secular),which previously had described his party
as communal. Working in tandem with now Chief Minister
and JD(S) working president H.D. Kumaraswamy, he
successfully conducted a coup that permitted the two to

CHENNAI 00000295 002 OF 002


take office (Reftl B). Under the agreement struck
between JD(S) ad BJP, Kumarasway will serve as Chief
Minister or 20 months and Yediyurappa will fill the
government's remaining 20 months as Chief Minister.
Yediyurappa detractors within the BJP, especially Ananth
Kumar, a former minister for civil aviation and a party
ideologue, criticized the partnership with JD(S) before
the national leadership gave its approval. Competition
between Yediyurappa and Ananth Kumar has divided the BJP
in the state and is said to be a major hurdle to the
party's continued growth. Yediyurappa firmly believes
that had the BJP projected him as the next Chief Minister
in the 2004, the Lingayat caste voters would have voted
as a block for the party, giving it a majority on its
own.

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LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN GOVERNMENT HIS WEAK POINT
-------------- --


6. COMMENT: Yediyurappa has been in politics for over
three decades, but almost all of that time he has been in
the opposition and so he has no real administrative
experience beyond party matters. Captains of the
information technology industry regard this as a serious
weakness because Bangalore sorely needs strong leadership
to address its many infrastructure problems. Detractors
within and outside the party expect him to stumble while
dealing with the state's bureaucracy. Managing
expectations of his party members while ensuring good
governance will sorely test his abilities, which remain
unknown for now. END COMMENT

HOPPER