Bengaluru, Apr 3 (IANS): Former Minister and senior BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa was headed to Delhi on Wednesday to meet the party's top leadership.
Eshwarappa has announced that he will contest the Shivamogga Parliamentary election as an independent candidate.
He has also stated that he would only step back if the high command removes B.Y. Vijayendra from the post of state president. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had made a personal phone call to Eshwarappa and invited him to New Delhi for a meeting during his (Shah) trip to Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters in Shivamogga, Eshwarappa stated, “I am reaching New Delhi by 7.45 p.m. today. I will meet the high-command leaders and convey my opinion. I will not step back from the contest for no reason.”
“I will achieve victory with the help of the wave of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After winning this seat, I will dedicate my victory to Prime Minister Modi. I am getting support cutting across the party lines. People of all religions, castes and pontiffs are supporting me. I am confident of achieving victory beyond expectations,” Eshwarappa stated.
However, sources said that the BJP leadership was confident of pacifying Eshwarappa after the talks in Delhi.
Eshwarappa is miffed after a Lok Sabha ticket to his son K.E. Kanthesh was denied. He slammed former CM B.S. Yediyurappa and asked him that if Yediyurappa could secure a ticket for Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje, and why didn't he try hard to secure a ticket for Kanthesh.
Yediyurappa has clarified that just because his son missed the ticket, Eshwarappa can’t make such allegations and the final call will be taken in this regard by the party's high command.
Yediyurappa’s son B.Y. Raghavendra is the BJP candidate for the Shivamogga Seat. The Congress party has fielded Geetha Shivarajkumar, sister of Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa against him. Geetha is also the daughter of former CM S. Bangarappa and the wife of Kannada superstar Dr. Shivarajkumar.
In this scenario, a close contest is expected between the BJP and the Congress. The contest of Eshwarappa as an independent candidate is likely to affect the BJP party.
Eshwarappa is known as a loyal BJP and staunch Hindutva leader. He even stated that the saffron flag would fly atop the Red Fort in New Delhi stirring a controversy. He represented the Shivamogga city Assembly seat in the previous polls. The party, however, denied him a ticket in the 2023 Assembly elections which was allotted to his right-hand man. When former CM Jagadish Shettar and DyCM Laxman Savadi joined the Congress last year, Eshwarappa showed restraint and did not even issue statements against the party.