Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday praised BJP stalwart and former Karnataka state chief Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa, who decided not to stand in the forthcoming assembly elections due in the next couple of months.
Confirming his retirement from politics during an emotional speech in the state assembly on Thursday, Yediyurappa said that though he will not be in the electoral fray from now on, he will continue to support the BJP to his last breath.
"Right from my days as a karyakarta [worker] of the Jana Sangh and now the BJP, I have served the people and tried to stay connected to the grassroots. I have tried to bring the causes of the downtrodden to the fore," the veteran BJP member said.
Sharing a clip of Yediyurappa's speech on Twitter, PM Modi said that the 79-year-old's work will inspire future generation of BJP workers.
"As a worker of the BJP, I found this speech very inspiring. This includes our party's ethics. It will definitely inspire other activists as well," the Indian PM tweeted.
Yediyurappa then responded to Modi, thanking him for his kind words and providing him with fresh motivation to work for the BJP at a time when the party faces the tough challenge of retaining Karnataka in the upcoming state elections.
"Thank you Honorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, for your kind wishes! Under his inspiring leadership, every worker of the party will continue to work with more zeal to strengthen the party," Yediyurappa said in reply to Modi's message on social media.
Yediyurappa has been one of the most recognizable faces of the BJP for more than two decades, having become state chief for the first time in 2007.
Since then, he has occupied the state's top post three other times with his last stint at the helm of affairs in Karnataka running from July 2019 to June 2021 when the BJP's central leadership asked him to resign and hand over the mantle to Basavaraj Bommai.