Much before BJP patriarch LK Advani expressed his unequivocal disapproval of the party’s handling of the Karnataka crisis and criticised BS Yeddyurappa for corruption, he is believed to have ticked off the former chief minister in the strongest of terms, calling him a “pickpocket”.

About three months ago, Yeddyurappa came to Advani and sought forgiveness for his follies. Sources said that he approached Advani when he found that the veteran leader was not amenable. But Advani reportedly told him that he was not ready to forgive him.

“While the Congress has been committing dacoity and looting the country, in your stint as the Karanataka chief minister you acted like a pickpocket,” Advani is reported to have told Yeddyurappa. He made it clear that he was not ready to accept Yeddyurappa even if the party leadership disagreed with him.

Advani’s intransigence virtually put paid to all hopes of Yeddyurappa staging a comeback with the support of a section of party leadership that was keen to bring him back to consolidate the support of the Lingayats, a powerful caste to which Yeddyurappa belonged.

Read more: