Karnataka BJP leader KS Eshwarappa says he will contest as independent candidate

Shivamogga:

Senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa on Friday announced that he will contest from Shimoga seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate and blamed party veteran and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s son KE Kantesh for being denied the ticket Ballots from Haveli constituency.

However, he claimed that it was a fight to save the party and its ideology and make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again.

“I will contest as an independent candidate from Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency,” Eshwarappa said while announcing his opposition to the BJP flag at a meeting called by supporters.

“The party may serve me a notice or expel me. If I win in two months, I am sure my supporters will stand with me at the feet of my mother, the BJP,” he added.

Yediyurappa’s son and sitting MP BY Raghavendra is the party candidate from Shimoga and Congress has fielded Geetha Shivarajkumar, daughter of former chief minister S Bangarappa, wife of Kannada film star Shivarajkumar and daughter-in-law of late actor Dr Rajkumar.

The 75-year-old former deputy chief minister reiterated his allegation that Yediyurappa, a member of the BJP’s parliamentary committee and central election committee, had guaranteed a ticket for his son and promised to pay for his He campaigned for victory but now “cheated” on him.

Eshwarappa said Yediyurappa had secured a ticket for Bommai and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Kalandraj, but “not for his son”.

The BJP has ousted former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai from the Haveli seat.

Eshwarappa claimed that Kantesh was ready to contest Haveli with Yediyurappa’s consent. “If Kantesh competes with Haveli, he will definitely win,” he said.

He claimed that the state unit of the BJP is in the hands of the Yediyurappa family, with one son serving as Congress member and the other son BY Vijayendra serving as MLA and state president. He questioned whether the Congress’s dynastic political culture had seeped into the Karnataka BJP.

Former BJP president Eshwarappa also accused Yeddyurappa of squeezing out the support of Nalin Kumar Kettle, Pratap Simha, CT Ravi and DV Sadananda Gowda. A man of Hindu cause. Incidentally, Kateel, Simha and Gowda, all sitting MPs, have been denied tickets for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Eshwarappa, Yediyurappa and the late HN Ananth Kumar are widely credited with building the BJP from the grassroots in Karnataka.

Eshwarappa pointed out that he has served the party for more than 40 years and will never quit the party in his life, but he is making a decision to save the party’s ideology and principles.

However, Eshwarappa has repeatedly stressed that he has nothing against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Even if my life disappears, I will not go against Narendra Modi. If my heart is open, there is Lord Rama on one side and Modi on the other side.” He appealed to his supporters to unite, Working together to ensure his victory so that national leaders take note of the problems within the party will help “save the BJP from being a family” and ensure “tens of thousands of workers and Hindutva activists” .

Eshwarappa also said he took this stance not just because his son was denied a ticket. “I want this organization to survive and this party should not fall into the hands of one family,” he said. He also claimed that Yeddyurappa’s recent assurance that Kantesh would be given DRC was a lie.

Earlier in the day, in Bengaluru, reacting to these developments, Yeddyurappa said: “We will convince Eshwarappa. He should be with us, he is our senior leader. I am sure everything will be fine Get up.” Ahead of last year’s assembly elections, Eshwarappa opted out of the race and asked the party’s central leadership not to field him in any constituency as he wanted to quit electoral politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi later called Eshwarappa’s phone number and spoke to him via video call, appreciating his move to retire from politics as per the party’s instructions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)