Last Updated: March 17, 2024, 13:21 IST
BJP leader KS Eshwarappa. (Image: PTI/File)
Former Chief Minister and BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa said that the saffron party is attempting to persuade him
In a setback to Bharatiya Janata Party’s efforts in Southern India’s Karnataka ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections, senior party leader KS Eshwarappa decided to contest the polls independently.
Eshwarappa is reportedly upset because his son was denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Haveri Constituency.
Former Chief Minister and BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa said that the saffron party is attempting to persuade him to not fight the elections on an independent ticket and hoped that he would come along.
However, it seems the BJP is failing to pacify the Eshwarappa situation as the senior BJP leader made his stand clear on contesting Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate
“We must free the BJP from the stronghold of the BSY family. I won’t listen to anyone, I will contest elections independently,” said Eshwarappa.
The BJP leader further alleged that the party is in the stronghold of the BSY family and he feels he must free the party from their clutches and further accused BSY of sidelining Vokkaliga and Kuruba community leaders in the party.
Karnataka is the most important State for the BJP in south India as it’s only here that it had held power in the past.
The Election Commission on Saturday announced that the Lok Sabha polls will be conducted in seven phases starting April 19, with the results to be declared on June 4, while voting in Jammu and Kashmir will take place in five phases.
In the 2019 Parliamentary elections, the Congress and JD(S) fought together but secured only one seat each in the state. The BJP bagged 25 out of the total 28 Lok Sabha seats.
