Quit as Karnataka BJP president and I won’t contest, K S Eshwarappa tells Vijayendra
SHIVAMOGGA: Senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa has asked BJP state president B Y Vijayendra to step down from the post if the latter really wants him to withdraw from contesting as an independent in the Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency.
“Why should former CM B S Yediyurappa’s family hold all the key positions in the party?” Eshwarappa added in response to Vijayendra’s request that he reconsider his decision to contest.
Vijayendra, who arrived here on Sunday to campaign for his brother and BJP candidate B Y Raghavendra, said, “There is a need to work together to make Narendra Modi prime minister again. Raghavendra will win for the fourth time by a margin of two lakh votes. Hence, I request Eshwarappa with folded hands to reconsider his decision.”
Eshwarappa said if Vijayendra wants him not to contest, the latter should resign from the post of state president. “Who gave you the authority to say that Eshwarappa is talking to the central leaders?” he asked.
Stepping up his attack, Eshwarappa said Vijayendra’s father, Yediyurappa, is a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board, his brother Raghavendra is an MP, and Vijayendra himself is an MLA. “The Yediyurappa family kept the post of BJP state president vacant for six months to ensure that it is given to one of their family members. Should all the power rest in the hands of Yediyurappa and his children?” Eshwarappa said.
He challenged the Yediyurappa family to give the BJP state president post to former minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a Lingayat, or to party leader CT Ravi, a Vokkaliga, or to him, an OBC.
“Before asking me not to contest, ask your brother not to contest. I am still a BJP worker. I have decided to contest. If I contest, what can the BJP do? Oust me, right? That’s all you can do. I will win this time by a margin of three lakh votes. If ousted, I will rejoin the BJP after winning,” he said.
He said when the top brass called him to New Delhi, he could not meet them. “This means that the BJP has to be freed from the Yediyurappa family and defeat Raghavendra in the elections,” he said.