Bengaluru: On the occasion of Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa proving his majority on the floor of the House, we have gleaned some interesting and unknown facts from his life. Here’s the list:

1.      Right from a young age, BS Yediyurappa was always in the forefront. His classmates vouch for this fact. In his school, his friends say that he always wanted to be a class monitor and succeeded in leading the class all the time.

2.      BS Yediyurappa loves sports. Be it volleyball or football or Kabaddi, he always took part enthusiastically. He also used to take part in cycle races during his student days and emerge victorious unfailingly.

3.      If you have observed closely, there is a scar on the chief minister’s cheek. His friends say that the scar was formed as a result of using a device called ‘baisgallu’ in Kannada. The device was used during the olden days to shoo away birds by keeping a stone in a small cup-like thing and then rotating and shooting it. During one such occasion, the stone ricocheted and hit his cheek, leaving a scar permanently.    

4.      Yediyurappa has always been a fighter. While any politician would nod his head in approval of this, we should add that the fighting spirit is not limited to politics alone. When Yediyurappa migrated to Shikaripura from Bookanakere, he got employed in a rice mill. The owner of the rice mill Veerabhadra Shastri was so impressed with the meticulous nature of Yediyurappa that he wanted to offer his daughter’s hand in marriage. Yediyurappa was glad at this proposal. The daughter Mythradevi was also thrilled at this proposal. But obstruction came in the form of her aunt, who wanted a different match for her. As her persistence grew, Veerabhadra Shastri was so fed up that he asked Yediyurappa to shelve plans of marrying Mythradevi. But Yeddiyurappa was not the one to relinquish it so easily. He stood his ground and reportedly told his would-be father-in-law, “I am not here to run away. I will marry her at any cost.” And the rest is history!

5.      Continuing further with his zeal and tenacity to fight, once when he was travelling on a bus to some unknown destination, he saw a haggard woman, carrying a sack of chillies and trying to load it on the top of the bus. She was weak. And the conductor was very uncouth to her and blurted out, “Don’t load that sack of chillies on the bus.” Infuriated at this attitude of the conductor, Yediyurappa took him on with all his might, made him understand his mistake and finally, made him load the sack of the chillies on the bus, giving him Rs 20!

6.      Operation Kamala is a term we are all familiar with! For novices, it is allegedly a ploy by the saffron party to poach MLAs from the opposite side to increase its hold. Though it is alleged that the operation goes on unabated now, you might find it interesting to know that the first Operation Kamala episode took place way back in the 70s when Yediyurappa became the municipal president. Incidentally, the party which BSY then represented had won 6 seats while Congress had won 8 seats. So Yediyurappa had not become the president. But once the candidate who won on a Congress ticket resigned from the presidency, Yediyurappa sensed a chance to become the president and poached one from the Congress, thereby performing Operation Kamala for the first time.

7.      Continuing with the same point, Yediyurappa was even attacked by the rivals for this role. Though he sustained serious injuries, he clung on to life.

8.      Talking of attacks, we must also tell you that he was attacked again for becoming more and more popular in Shikaripura. A rival MLA Venkatappa decided to get him killed. So he took the services of a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) conductor Churi Shivamurthy. In the wee hours, he attacked him with a rod and hit him from behind. As he sustained serious injuries, he was hospitalised. When his wife came running and inquired about his health, the answer that he gave was, “Yes, I am alive. But I am alive not for you. I am alive so that I can help people and solve their problems.”

9.      Yediyurappa had even cried on the floor of the Assembly. In 1983, when he was the lone MLA from his party, he shed tears in the Assembly over unauthorised cultivation taking place in his constituency and the consequent trouble the farmers were put into.

10.  Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, a former Vice President of India and a chief minister of Rajasthan had once prophesied that Yediyurappa would become the CM of the state. This was probably in the early 80s. That was a time when the BJP did not have a strong presence. But the then chief minister of Rajasthan, who took part in a farmer-related issue in the state, was impressed with the fastidious style of Yediyurappa’s functioning. When someone asked him why he said so, he replied that Yediyurappa had the calibre in him to be what he is today!

11.  Yediyurappa has a fondness for Thursdays as he is very devoted to Lord Raghavendra. Most of his notable events have taken place on Thursdays.

12.  Once when Yediyurappa was travelling in his car, he came across a puppy wailing over the death of the mother. He was touched by the agony of the puppy, but he had to travel further. However, on his way back, he found the puppy still wailing and took it home and took care of it.