BENGALURU: B Somashekar, a former minister during the JH Patel government, resigned from the primary membership of the BJP on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on Friday.
He said he chose this day as BJP has been “unfair” to the Scheduled Castes. As a member of the Scheduled Caste community, he said he was feeling “discriminated against” and “suffocated” because of rampant casteism and hierarchy within the party. Somashekar, who was a BJP state vice-president for three years, was serving as an executive committee member of the saffron party.
He was with BJP for nearly a decade after merging JDU with the Saffron party in 2014. He said he has been denied the ticket from Malavalli as he lost against a JDS candidate in the 2018 Assembly polls. But that was because of a surreptitious understanding between JDS and some elements of BJP in that election, he said.
Asked if he was dropped because of his age, he said, “I am 71. Somanna, who is older than me, has been made to contest from two seats. Thippareddy, who too is older, has been considered for a ticket. While others who were dropped were informed by party leaders, I was not told by anyone. That is because I am a member of the Scheduled Caste.’’