When the Congress and JD(S) were seemingly considering post-poll alignments after the close of polling on May 12, B.S. Yeddyurappa was the odd man out. The BJP's chief ministerial candidate seemed so confident of victory that he was content in interacting with mediapersons and had reportedly even booked the Kantiveera Stadium in Bengaluru for his swearing-in ceremony.

Such a level of self-assurance may seem out of place for Yeddyurappa as the last decade has sure been a roller-coaster ride for the BJP's most popular leader in Karnataka.

He went from being the man who laid the foundations for the BJP's first government in what seemed to be an impregnable region in 2008 to being the first Karnataka chief minister to be jailed in 2011 to floating his own party in 2012 to finally returning as the BJP's state chief.

Now, with the BJP set to form the next government in Karnataka and the party's state unit effectively anointing him chief minister, it would be worthwhile to take a glance back at Yeddyurappa's rise to power.

While the BJP's back-room operators did their share to boost the party's numbers in the mid-2000s using 'Operation Lotus', the most credit for the saffron party's first government in Karnataka belongs to Yeddyurappa. His pro-people image, combined with a sympathy wave after H.D. Kumaraswamy pulled the plug on a 'rotating' chief ministership alliance, ensured Yeddyurappa was the BJP's biggest vote puller in 2008.

While his term in office was riddled with corruption allegations, Yeddyurappa managed to cultivate goodwill among large sections of the population, such as farmers and families with school-going children, using populist schemes. It can be argued that Yeddyurappa and the Congress' Siddaramaiah have a lot of similarities in their focus on welfare-based populism.

The virtual collapse in the BJP's popularity after Yeddyurappa's resignation as CM and formation of the Karnataka Janata Paksha in late 2012 showed how indispensable Yeddyurappa was. The return of Yeddyurappa played as much a role as the famed 'Modi wave' in the BJP winning more Lok Sabha seats than the Congress in the 2014 elections, barely a year after its drubbing in the 2013 Assembly elections.

While Yeddyurappa retains considerable clout, in part because of his Lingayat origins, the BJP he deals with today is a considerably different outfit from the party he could afford to virtually 'intimidate' after being made to quit in 2011. It is clear that he deals with a BJP high command to which he must defer to, not just because of his age but also the fact that party chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have modified the way the party operates in states.

While Yeddyurappa had been projected as the BJP's prospective CM, his profile in the 2018 election campaign was visibly low key and the party deciding not to field his son, B.Y. Raghavendra, was interpreted as an attempt to cut him down to size.

Furthermore, toward the fag end of campaigning, there were rumours that B. Sriramulu, who is close to the influential Reddy brothers, could be made deputy CM. Sriramulu's relative youth, compared with Yeddyurappa, and dalit background also appeal to the BJP's long-term plans.

Further, the corruption charges against him and the 'rehabilitation' of the Reddy brothers will invite criticism for any Yeddyurappa government from the start.

Irrespective of how Yeddyurappa deals with possible rivals and prepares to counter tough issues such as the Lingayat religion status, May 15 will be day to relish for the Lingayat leader.