[8][9] However, he was unable to get majority support in the Assembly and resigned just two days after taking office, after which H. D. Kumaraswamy took oath as the Chief Minister.
He was named after the presiding deity of a Shaivite temple built by the great saint Siddalingeshwara at Yediyur in Tumkur district.
He has been a member of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Legislative Assemblies (lower house) of Karnataka.
This forced Yediyurappa and all the ministers from his party to resign and on 5 October, the BJP formally withdrew the support to the Kumaraswamy government.
[54] He was given 15 days to prove majority by the governor but the Supreme Court intervened and cut it short to just 24 hours and ordered a floor test (trust vote) soon after.
He was invited by Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala on 26 July to form the new government, and took oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the fourth time.
The Chief Minister Yediyurappa had announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the family members of those who died and lost houses in the floods.
[63] On 4 October 2019, Central Government had released an amount of 1200 Crores as Karnataka flood relief funds on the request of Yediyurappa.
[64] In the early days of 2020, Yediyurappa visited Davos accompanying the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended the annual meet of World Economic Forum 2020.
[65] He along with the Industries Minister of the state Jagadish Shettar attracted investments for the Global Investors' Meet to be held in November in the IT-hub of Bangalore.
[66] Yediyurappa also led a delegation from Karnataka in the hope of attracting more investors to set up shop or expand their facilities in the state.
[65] The Chief Minister said that the state had received positive response from corporations such as French 3D design company Dassault Systèmes, aircraft maker Lockheed Martin, steelmaker ArcelorMittal, LuLu Group International and pharmaceutical major Novo Nordisk among others.
[67][68] In December 2020, the Government of Karnataka, under his leadership passed the Anti Cow-Slaughter bill 2020, in aim to protect and nurture the cattle in the state, that were alleged being slaughtered illegally.
[70] Amid opposition from the Congress members who staged a walk-out protest, the bill was passed unanimously in the floor of the house, and the law further came into effect in the state.
[74] In July 2021, Yediyurappa assured the start of the Mekedatu project across river Kaveri, upon the clearance of the obligations in the judicial courts.
[79] With speculations of leadership change in BJP Karnataka for over several months, rumours spread that Yediyurappa would be sacked, and a new chief minister would be appointed for the state.
[83] With the news widespread, various influential seers and monks belonging to the majority Lingayat community and others swarmed in large numbers backing Yediyurappa, urging BJP to let BSY complete his term and warned about fierce protest if at all he was changed.
[84][85] Amid these doubts on 25 July the BJP national president J. P. Nadda slashed out these notions by stating "No crisis in Karnataka, Yediyurappa has done good work".
During the speech he went through his memories of the 45 year political career, thanked his party leaders and high command, and submitted his resignation that afternoon, to the Governor of Karnataka.
[89] In February 2023, Yediyurappa made his farewell speech at the Karnataka Legislative assembly as an MLA, and reiterated that he would not be contesting in the upcoming elections in 2023, paving way for others but would work hard to bring the party back to power.
[90][91] Further on 27 February 2023, Narendra Modi greeted and wished Yediyurappa on his 80th birthday, heaped praise about his achievements and also inaugurated the long demanded Shivamogga airport in his presence.
In a major relief to Yediyurappa and the BJP, the Karnataka High Court set aside the sanction given by then-Governor H. R. Bhardwaj for his prosecution in several cases of alleged illegal de-notification of land and asked the incumbent, Vajubhai Vala, to have a fresh look at it.
[93] The High Court said, "non-consideration of the relevant matters made the order of sanction illegal and resulted in the failure of justice.
We accordingly set aside the order of sanction, dated 21 January 2011, and remit the matter back to the Governor for reconsideration in the light of our discussions above.
A division bench of the high court of Karnataka passed the order stating that "Suspicion cannot be a ground to tarnish the image and reputation of a person who is holding a Constitutional post.
Even during the course of argument, a specific question was put to Lokayukta counsel to produce any material to connect the petitioner for alleged offences, but he was mum and did not indicate any favors shown by Yediyurappa as the chief minister to any mining company".
[99] In May 2012, the Supreme Court, temporarily stayed the case on this matter and ordered an official CBI enquiry, to be completed within three months.
[100] On 25 July 2012, Karnataka High Court granted anticipatory bail to Yediyurappa in a case relating to alleged irregularities in denotification of government land in 2009.
[101] Other cases rejected by the Court were: "Operation Kamala" is a term coined in 2008, when former minister G. Janardhana Reddy used a method to secure support from legislators bypassing the Anti-Defection Law, so as to take BJP past the majority number.