Revolt in K'taka BJP, Eshwarappa to contest as Independent

NT Correspondent

Shivamogga (Karnataka): Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa on Friday announced that he will contest as an independent candidate from the Shimoga seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, blaming party veteran and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for his son K E Kantesh being denied a ticket for the Haveri constituency.

Yediyurappa's son and sitting MP B Y Raghavendra is the party candidate from Shimoga, where Congress has fielded former Chief Minister S Bangarappa's daughter Geetha Shivarajkumar, wife of Kannada film star Shivarajkumar and daughterin-law of thespian late Dr Rajkumar.

BJP has fielded former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from the Haveri seat. Eshwarappa, Yediyurappa and the late HN Ananth Kumar are widely credited for building the BJP in Karnataka from the grassroots.

The 75-year-old former Deputy Chief Minister reiterated his allegation that Yediyurappa, a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee, had assured a ticket for his son and promised to campaign for his victory, but had now "cheated" him.

Eshwarappa said that Yediyurappa had ensured a ticket for Bommai and Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje, but "not for his son".

He alleged that BJP's state unit is in the clutches of the Yediyurappa family, with one son as MP and the other son B Y Vijayendra as MLA and state president.

Eshwarappa, who is a former state BJP president, also accused Yediyurappa of sidelining those who espoused the cause of Hindutva like Nalin Kumar Kateel, Pratap Simha, C T Ravi and D V Sadananda Gowda. Kateel, Simha and Gowda- -all sitting MPs-- have been denied Lok Sabha tickets.

However, Eshwarappa repeatedly stressed that he is not opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.