Bengaluru: Weeks ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka, former Deputy Chief Minister and BJP’s old warhorse in the state, K.S. Eshwarappa, wrote to BJP President J.P. Nadda on Tuesday to communicate his decision to quit electoral politics.
“I am withdrawing from electoral politics. I have been given a lot of responsibilities by the party over the last 40 years. From booth in-charge, I went on to become the chief of Karnataka BJP. I also had the honour to become the Deputy Chief Minister of the state,” the veteran OBC leader wrote in the letter penned in Kannada.
The move came ahead of the party’s announcement of its first list of candidates for the Assembly polls scheduled on May 10.
According to party insiders, Eshwarappa has decided to opt out of electoral politics to pave the way for his son K.E. Kanthesh’s candidature from the Shivamogga Assembly constituency.
Interacting with mediapersons here, Eshwarappa said that he is retiring from electoral politics in order to help the BJP secure majority in the upcoming Assembly polls, pointing out that despite forming the government and having several CMs, the saffron party has never secured complete majority on its own.
Expressing confidence that the party leadership would accept his decision, Eshwarappa said that he will take up any new responsibilities that the party leadership gives him.
Last week it was reported that Karnataka BJP is in two minds about giving ticket to Eshwarappa. Some sources in the party had even confirmed that the BJP has already taken a decision not to give him the ticket as it is searching for a new face.
Eshwarappa, who will turn 75 in June, is the face of the Kuruba community in BJP. He is also a staunch Hindutva leader. His statements, such as hoisting ‘Bhagwa’ flag on the Red Fort, or on Azaan and against Muslim fundamentalism had made national headlines earlier.
The senior leader was reportedly upset over last week’s developments and had already started lobbying for his son, Kantesh, for a ticket.
Eshwarappa had to resign from his post of Deputy CM in the Cabinet of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai following the death under suspicious circumstances of a contractor who had accused Eshwarappa of demanding commission for clearing his pending bills.
Although a subsequent probe cleared his name in the matter, Eshwarappa was not reinstated in the Cabinet. All these factors are believed to have influenced his decision to retire from electoral politics.
Eshwarappa is the third BJP MLA in Karnataka to quit electoral politics in the run-up to the Assembly polls. Previously, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who had announced his retirement from electoral politics, had said that his son B.Y. Vijayendra would contest from his home turf of Shikaripura in Shivamogga district.
On April 3, Kundapur MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty had also announced his retirement from electoral politics.
Eshwarappa, along with Yediyurappa, had played a vital role in building the BJP as a strong political force in Karnataka.
