Chitradurga, 9 May

BJP Veteran BS Yediyurappa on Saturday declared that there was “no question of retirement” from public life, saying he would continue working for the party and the nation as long as he had the strength. He was speaking at his ‘Abhimanotsava’ in Chitradurga, a felicitation marking 50 years in politics.

The event drew a large gathering, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who flew in from Kolkata, along with seers and leaders from various communities. Yediyurappa described the occasion not as an individual honour but as a celebration of “five decades of shared struggle” with the people of Karnataka, recalling his journey from Shikaripura to the Chief Minister’s office.

“I say again and again that till my final breath, there is no question of retirement. As long as God gives me strength, I will continue working honestly for the organisation, the party, the state and the nation,” he said.

He credited farmers, party workers and the public for his rise in politics, and reiterated his ideological grounding in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying he was proud to be an RSS worker shaped by its values.

Yediyurappa also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, claiming India had attained a new global stature under their leadership. Referring to recent developments in West Bengal, he described the BJP’s electoral gains there as a “victory for India” and said the successful conduct of elections marked a win for democracy.

He urged that Modi should continue leading the country for at least another decade and said Shah should remain central to strengthening internal security and nation-building. He also pledged to travel across Karnataka to mobilise support for the BJP and its development agenda under the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Addressing the gathering, Amit Shah hailed Yediyurappa as a leader who dedicated his life to ordinary people and played a crucial role in expanding the BJP in southern India. He said Yediyurappa’s political journey, from grassroots activism to becoming Chief Minister, had helped establish the party’s presence in the region, long considered difficult terrain for the BJP.

Shah also recalled Yediyurappa’s refusal in 2014 to join the Union Cabinet, choosing instead to focus on bringing the BJP back to power in Karnataka. He praised his role in promoting Bengaluru as a global technology hub and fostering social harmony across communities.

The Home Minister said a memorial to 18th-century Chitradurga ruler Veera Raja Madakari Nayaka would be built as promised, and lauded the day’s event as symbolically significant, coinciding with political developments in West Bengal.