Bengaluru, May 14 (IANS): Expelled BJP leader and Shimoga Lok Sabha seat Independent candidate K.S. Eshwarappa filed a complaint with the Election Commission on Tuesday against his BJP rival B.Y. Raghavendra and demanded his arrest.

Eshwarappa told the media that Raghavendra, the son of former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, had released a fake video on May 6, the day before the Lok Sabha election, which showed him withdrawing his candidature from the election.

"The video portrays that I am campaigning for Raghavendra this time, using footage from the previous general election," he said.

Eshwarappa said that with Raghavendra fearing defeat in the Lok Sabha election, the fake video presented his and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photos together.

"This is a betrayal of democracy. There is no connection between the present election and the fake video. I will never make such a mistake of supporting Raghavendra in my life. I had feared this propaganda. I contested as an independent candidate to liberate the party from the clutches of a family," he said.

"It is propagated through the video that I had withdrawn my candidature and supported him in the election. This is a conspiracy," he alleged.