Bengaluru: Angry after his son was denied a ticket for the Haveri-Gadag Lok Sabha seat, Senior BJP leader and former Minister KS Eshwarappa on Wednesday hit out at former chief minister and Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa for 'cheating' him. 

Miffed on BJP fielding former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the ticket for the Haveri-Gadag Lok Sabha constituency, the senior BJP leader claimed Yediyurappa had promised that his son KE Kantesh would be the party's candidate for the seat. 

“Yediyurappa promised KE Kantesh will get the BJP ticket from Haveri. Taking him at his word, Kantesh was directing his efforts on Hageri, trying to win the trust of the people. However, my son was eventually denied a ticket. Yediyurappa cheated us,” said Eshwarappa. 

He claimed that his supporters were urging him to contest the Shimoga seat as an Independent, opposite Yediyurappa's son BY Raghavendra, as a mark of protest.

"The party unit in Karnataka is in the hands of a family. There is a call within to protect the party from the family. Aren't there any other Lingayat leaders in Karnataka? Yediyurappa ensured tickets for Shobha Karandlaje and Basavaraj Bommai. Why then was my son Kantesh ignored? This is grave injustice," the senior BJP leader said.

"I have served the party faithfully for 40 years. CT Ravi, Sadananda Gowda, Nalin Kumar Kateel and Pratap Simha have also come out in my support, saying it was unfair," Eshwarappa claimed.

The former Deputy CM alleged that Yediyurappa deliberately gave the Haveri ticket to Bommai despite promising that the party would pick Kantesh from the seat.

"Bommai said at the election committee meeting that he wasn't keeping well and wouldn't contest the Lok Sabha elections. Bommai said the Haveri ticket should go to Kantesh. Despite expressing his unwillingness to contest the polls, he was put on the ticket. Yediyurappa deliberately gave Bommai the ticket for Haveri. Yediyurappa's decision is unfair for party loyalists," he said.

The BJP on March 13 released the second list of 72 Lok Sabha candidates, including three former chief ministers and four Union Ministers.

In Karnataka, the party fielded Union Minister Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad, Tejaswi Surya from Bangalore South constituency, Bommai from Haveri and PC Mohan from Bangalore Central. The BJP also named Raghvendra from Shimoga and V Sommana from Tumkuru.

The party released its first list of 195 candidates earlier this month, featuring PM Modi from Varanasi, Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar and Mansukh Mandaviya from Porbandar.