Senior Karnataka BJP leader Eshwarappa 'retires' from electoral politics
NEW DELHI: Senior Karnataka BJP leader K S Eshwarappa on Tuesday wrote to party president J P Nadda opting out of contesting the May 10 assembly polls and said he was retiring from electoral politics.
In his brief letter written in Kannada, the veteran legislator and former deputy chief minister said his decision was out of his own will.
Eshwarappa would turn 75 in June, the unofficial age bar in the BJP for leaders to contest polls and hold official positions. Though there have been occasional exceptions as well.
The BJP has not yet announced its first list of candidates for the election to the 224-member assembly.
K S Eshwarappa, who was an aspirant along with his son K E Kantesh, said in a letter to BJP National President J P Nadda, K S Eshwarappa, "Voluntarily, I have decided to retire from electoral politics. So, request yourself not to consider my name for the upcoming assembly from any of the constituencies".
"I thank all the senior leaders for giving me an opportunity to work from booth level to the deputy chief minister position in my political career of more than 40 years," he said.
Talking to media persons here on Tuesday afternoon, K S Eshwarappa said had taken this decision to retire from electoral politics at the time of the election committee meeting held in Bengaluru during the first week of March 2023.
He said he had requested the senior leadership to permit him to continue working for the organisational and community projects of the party but they had not accepted, prompting him to write a letter to Nadda.
The leader added that he wants to infuse organising strength to the party in the state as they had not ever registered a full majority in the elections before. "B S Yediyurappa became chief minister four times, Jagadish Shettar became CM, Sadananda Gowda and now Basavaraj Bommai. People of the state have given their verdict to rule but not for the complete mandate," said Eshwarappa.
"With the sole intention to bring back the BJP to power with full majority and to focus on political activities, I decided not to contest elections. Hereby, I request all the party workers in the state to work collectively to see the BJP form government with a full majority. This has to motivate the party for the upcoming parliamentary elections and to see Modiji be the PM of the nation", he added.
The 74-year-old 'Kuruba' (OBC) leader, who is known for his controversial statements, is a five-time MLA from Shivamogga, and has served as a minister holding various portfolios.
Angry supporters of Eshwarappa raised slogans alleging that he had been subjected to "injustice".
They burnt tyres on roads in protest.
The announcement came amid speculations that the central leadership was weighing the option of denying him a ticket.
There were also some reports that he had proposed the name of his son K E Kantesh for the Shivamogga seat.
Eshwarappa had quit as Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister after a contractor, Santosh Patil, killed himself a year ago in a hotel room in Udupi, accusing him in his suicide note of demanding 40 per cent commission for awarding a civil work in Belagavi.
Later, an investigation by the police gave him a clean chit.
He demanded a ministerial position after he was absolved of the charges but the party did not pay heed to it.
Eshwarappa has been associated with the RSS from the beginning and was an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) when he was a student at National Commerce College in Shivamogga.
Later, he along with Yediyurappa, who also hails from Shivamogga district, and other leaders toiled hard to build the saffron party in the State.
(With additional inputs from PTI)