BENGALURU: The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday expelled rebel leader KS Eshwarappa from the party for six years for contesting from the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat as an Independent candidate.
“Disregarding the instructions of the party, he (Eshwarappa) has contested as a rebel candidate from the current Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency and caused embarrassment to the party. This is a violation of party discipline. He is therefore absolved from all responsibilities with immediate effect and expelled from the party for six years,” said the letter signed by Lingaraj Patil, chairperson of Karnataka BJP’s disciplinary committee.
The decision came hours after the Election Commission’s deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Monday evening, and Eshwarappa was granted the symbol of a farmer standing in front of a sugarcane. Shivamogga is due to vote in the third phase on May 7.
The rift between the BJP and Eshwarappa began after the party denied a ticket for his son KE Kanthesh in the Haveri Seat. Since then the leader has sought retribution by contesting against BJP candidate Raghavendra, the son of former CM BS Yediyurappa. Alleging betrayal by Yediyurappa, Eshwarappa also aims to oust BY Vijayendra, another of Yediyurappa’s sons, from the post of Karnataka BJP chief.
Eshwarappa was upset with the BJP after it declined to give his son KE Kanthesh a party ticket from the Haveri constituency. A furious Eshwarappa vowed to hit back at BS Yediyurappa by contesting against his son, BY Raghavendra who is seeking to win the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat for the third straight term.
{{/usCountry}}Eshwarappa was upset with the BJP after it declined to give his son KE Kanthesh a party ticket from the Haveri constituency. A furious Eshwarappa vowed to hit back at BS Yediyurappa by contesting against his son, BY Raghavendra who is seeking to win the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat for the third straight term.
{{/usCountry}}Eshwarappa has not responded to the BJP decision but had made it clear in the past that his decision to contest the election as an independent candidate meant that he was no more with the party to face such disciplinary action. Eshwarappa frequently cites Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attack against dynastic politics. “My goals resonate with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision. Just as I stand against the dynastic politics of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the national level, my objective is to free the BJP in the state from the Yediyurappa family,” he said on April 16.
Eshwarappa, a Kuruba leader, is a contemporary of former CM BS Yediyurappa and the late Ananth Kumar and was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the party’s establishment in the state after he joined the RSS student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a teenager.
In April 2022, Eshwarappa was compelled to resign from the Basavaraj Bommai cabinet position after a contractor died by suicide alleging that the minister demanded bribes for clearing bills, an allegation that ignited the Congress’ 40% Sakkara campaign in the assembly elections and contributed to the Congress’s landslide victory in the assembly elections.