BJP took strict action against rebel leader Eshwarappa in Karnataka, expelled him from the party for 6 years

Bengaluru: BJP on Monday suspended rebel leader K for violating party discipline and contesting the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate. S. Eshwarappa was expelled from the party for six years.

Eshwarappa, a former Deputy Chief Minister and state unit president of the party, who was contesting the elections, had blamed state BJP president BY Vijayendra and his father and veteran leader BS Yediyurappa for his son KE Kantesh not getting a ticket from Haveri. Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has got the BJP ticket from Haveri, while Vijayendra’s brother and MP BY Raghavendra is the BJP candidate from Shimoga.

State Disciplinary Committee Chairman Lingaraj Patil said in the expulsion order, “Ignoring the party’s instructions, you are contesting as a rebel candidate from Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, causing embarrassment to the party. This is a violation of party discipline,” it said, adding, “Therefore, you are relieved of all responsibilities and expelled from the party for six years with immediate effect.”

The party’s decision to expel the former leader of opposition in the Legislative Council came on the last day of withdrawal of candidature for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held in Karnataka on May 7. Eshwarappa, along with Yediyurappa and late HN Ananth Kumar, is credited with building the BJP at the grassroots level in Karnataka.

Before the assembly elections last year, 75-year-old Eshwarappa had told the party’s central leadership that he wanted to retire from electoral politics and should not be considered for fielding him from any constituency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then called Eshwarappa and spoken to him over video call and praised his move to retire from electoral politics, as per party instructions.