Karnataka: BJP expels senior leader Eshwarappa over ticket row

The Karnataka BJP unit on Monday expelled former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa for six years for contesting as an independent candidate from Shivamogga in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls after he was denied a party ticket. In its expulsion order, the BJP said he had “violated discipline and caused embarrassment to the party.”

Eshwarappa will be contesting against BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra. The former deputy CM, who was sorely disappointed when his son was denied a ticket, had accused Yediyurappa of playing “family politics,” and favouring his sons in ticket choices. The senior leader from the Kuruba community said Yediyurappa had promised the Haveri ticket to his son KE Kantesh and had offered to campaign for him, but had reneged on his words. The BJP has picked former CM Basavaraj Bommai as its candidate for the Haveri seat.

Earlier this month, the party filed a complaint against Eshwarappa for using pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his campaign posters, saying he was misleading the public into thinking he was a part of the BJP. State party president BY Vijayendra had warned that the BJP would take disciplinary action against its former leader. Eshwarappa, however, had dismissed the remarks, saying that as an independent candidate, he was no longer affiliated with the BJP and couldn’t be subjected to its rules.