Who is BY Vijayendra? Yediyurappa's son contesting from Shikaripura constituency

BY Vijayendra, the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, has been fielded from Shikaripura Assembly constituency by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in the coming Karnataka Assembly elections, scheduled for May 10. With Yediyurappa, the BJP stalwart from Karnataka, announcing his retirement from electoral politics ahead of the crucial polls, the saffron camp decided to pass the responsibility of the BJP stronghold to his son.  

While it was earlier speculated that the BJP might field Vijayendra from the Varuna constituency to give a tough fight to Congress strongman Siddaramaiah, the saffron camp finally fielded him from his father's constituency after much drama over his contest. 

Yediyurappa’s Shikaripura legacy 

Notably, Shikaripura is the only Assembly constituency in Karnataka where the BJP won consistently since 1983. Yediyurappa has been constantly winning the seat since 1983 when the BJP contested the polls in Karnataka for the first time. In the last four decades, Yediyurappa lost his bastion only once in 1999 to a Congress candidate. 

In fact, Yediyurappa even managed to win the constituency in 2013 under the banner of his newly launched party, Karnataka Jantha Paksha (KJP), after he parted his ways from the BJP.

However, he returned to the BJP in 20214 and contested the 2018 Assembly elections from Shikaripura again and managed to win the constituency defeating Congress leader Goni Malatesta.

Who is BY Vijayendra?

The son of BJP stalwart BS Yediyurappa, BY Vijayendra, has previously served as the general secretary of Karnataka unit Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. The Shikaripura-born leader was appointed as the state vice president of the BJP in 2020. Vijayendra was recently appointed to BJP’s 25-member election committee for the Karnataka polls. 

Vijayendra is expected to succeed from the constituency as his father is consistently winning the seat since 1983.