New Delhi: Signalling an end to dissident activity in the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party chief Amit Shah on Friday said former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa will be the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in next year’s assembly polls in the state.

“Former Karnataka chief minister B.S Yeddyurappa will be the BJP’s chief ministerial face in the assembly polls scheduled early next year. It will be fought under Yeddyurappa," Shah said in an interview with PTI.

Assembly elections in Karnataka are due in May 2018. The state unit of the BJP has been riven by a political tussle between Yeddyurappa and former deputy chief minister K.S. Eshwarappa.

Eshwarappa, leader of the opposition in the legislative council, has questioned Yeddyurappa’s style of functioning and his choice in appointing district level BJP functionaries.

It was under Yeddyurappa’s leadership in 2008 that the BJP formed its first government in south India in Karnataka. Yeddyurappa could not complete his tenure because of corruption allegations against him.

Yeddyurappa, known for his organisational skills, is an influential leader of the Lingayat community which plays a decisive role in Karnataka politics. The 74-year-old politician quitted the BJP and started his own political group in 2011. Yeddyurappa’s party, Karnataka Janata Paksha, could not make a mark in the assembly elections of 2013 and he later returned to the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

(PTI contributed to the story)

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