'Will Contest, Win and Go Back To BJP Again': After Expulsion, Can Eshwarappa Dent BJP's Prospects?

New Delhi: After being expelled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, rebel leader K S Eshwarappa said that he doesn't fear any expulsion. He asserted that he will contest the Lok Sabha elections as he has filed his nomination from Shivamogga and will be back in the party after securing victory. 

“I have decided to contest as a non-party candidate, I still have hope, I do not fear any expulsion. I will contest elections and win and will go back to BJP again. I have competed five tenures with the lotus sign,” said Eshwarappa. 

The Former deputy chief minister of Karnataka, KS Eshwarappa, has filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Shivamogga after BJP denied ticket to his son son KE Kanthesh from Haveri, and instead fielded former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. Following this, Eshwarappa filed his nomination from Shivamogga- considered a Yediyurappa stronghold for the saffron party from where it has fielded 

BJP Expels Eshwarappa 

BJP expelled Eshwarappa for 6 years for  violating party discipline and contesting Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate. "Ignoring the party's directions, you are contesting as a rebel candidate from Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, causing embarrassment to the party. This is violation of party discipline," state disciplinary committee president Lingaraj Patil said in the expulsion order.

The party's decision to expel the former Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, came on the last day for withdrawal of candidature for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka on May 7.

Can Eshwarappa Dent BJP's Prospects? 

Eshwarappa, now a rebel, is credited for building the BJP from the grassroots in Karnataka alongside Yediyurappa and the late H N Ananth Kumar. Eshwarappa, a former Deputy Chief Minister who had also served as the party’s state unit President, has entered the fray blaming Vijayendra and his father and veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa. 

• Dynasty Politics 

Eshwarappa claimed that he is fighting “dynasty politics” in Karnataka following the ideals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had claimed that the BJP in the state is in the clutches of its Parliamentary board member Yediyurappa and his family, with his one son as MP and other son Vijayendra as MLA and the state BJP president. 

• Hindutva 

Eshwarappa, has repeatedly accused Yediyurappa of sidelining those who espoused the cause of Hindutva like Nalin Kumar Kateel, Pratap Simha, C T Ravi and D V Sadananda Gowda. While Yediyurappa remains BJP's biggest star campaigner in the state. Belonging to Kuruba caste, Eshwarappa has represented Shivamogga constituency five times. He presents himself as a staunch Hindu activist in the southern state. 

In Shivamogga, it is a three-way contest between  B.S. Yediyurappa's son B.Y. Raghavendra, former Karnataka CM  S. Bangarappa's daughter Geetha Shivarajkumar and Eshwarappa.  Yediyurappa and his son won the seat in the 2014 and 2019 elections with a huge margin. Will Eshwarappa dent BJP's prospects or will struggle to leave his mark, this only time can tell.