The former Karnataka Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, who had lost his post having been accused of corruption, is back in a prominent role, as president of the BJP’s Karnataka unit.

Mr. Yeddyurappa, who was credited with giving the BJP its first success in south India, faced a tough time from 2008. He did not get along with the Reddy Brothers, the mining barons of Bellary, and then faced the heat because of a Lokayukta report accusing him of corruption. He was forced to resign.

He left the party and formed the Karnataka Janata Paksha in 2012. He was brought back to the BJP just before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls because of his support among the powerful Lingayats. The Supreme Court’s refusal to revoke a Karnataka High Court order putting on hold his prosecution in some cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act has made his elevation easier.

The party has named MLA K. Lakshman as its Telangana president and the former MP, Tapir Gao, as its Arunachal Pradesh president.

BJP national president Amit Shah also announced the names of the State presidents for Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, which go to the polls next year. In both States, the party sought to play the caste card. Keshav Prasad Maurya, from the OBC, is the Uttar Pradesh president and Union Minister of State Vijay Sampla, a Dalit, will head the party in Punjab.

Mr. Maurya, an MP from Phulpur near Allahabad, belongs to the OBC Kachhi community. But BJP leaders doubt if the caste arithmetic will work, given that Mr. Maurya is not considered a leader of high stature. Sources said he was once active in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

In Punjab, which has the highest number of Dalits in India, the BJP has appointed a Dalit president.

The Dalits account for almost 32 per cent of the State’s population as per the 2011 census. Mr. Sampla is seen as the rural face of the party in the State.