Dissidence brews: Jagadish Shettar not on first list, but firm on contesting elections in Karnataka

BENGALURU: BJP faced its first major rebellion ahead of the May 10 assembly elections in Karnataka as former chief minister and senior BJP legislator Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday hinted at contesting as a rebel candidate from Hubballi-Dharwad central constituency.
He had won from this seat consecutively in the past six elections. Hours before BJP announced its first list of candidates, Shettar said that he received a call from party leadership requesting him to make way for fresh faces.
“I have pledged my loyalty to BJP for nearly four decades,” Shettar told reporters, while rejecting party leaders’ call to step aside. “Even the party’s recent survey proved that I have an edge. I am disappointed after getting the call from the party leadership.”
In the past six elections, Shettar, 67, said he was elected by a margin of more than 21,000 votes. “I am not old, and I have no blot on my career or any allegations against me.
So, why deny me a ticket?” he said. A visibly upset Shettar also said: “I have already begun campaigning and will intensify it. There is no question of staying away from elections. I only hope the party leadership reconsiders its decision.”
KSE is third BJP MLA to retire
Another senior BJP legislator and former deputy chief minister, KS Eshwarappa, who was also asked to make room for others, decided to quit electoral politics. In a letter to the party’s national chief JP Nadda, Eshwarappa, the face of the Kuruba community in BJP, said: “I have been given a lot of responsibilities by the party over the past 40 years.
I went on to become chief of Karnataka BJP. I also had the honour to become the deputy chief minister of the state.” Along with former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, Eshwarappa, who will turn 75 in June, played a vital role in building BJP as a strong political force in the state.
He is also a staunch Hindutva leader. His controversial statements, such as hoisting the Bhagwa flag at Red Fort, on Azaan and against Muslim fundamentalism, have made national headlines.
Eshwarappa was forced to quit as minister in chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s cabinet after he was linked to the death of a civil contractor, who accused him of demanding a hefty commission to clear pending bills. Although he was cleared of wrongdoing through an investigation, Eshwarappa was not reinstated in the cabinet.
All these factors are believed to have influenced his decision to quit electoral politics. Eshwarappa is the third BJP MLA in Karnataka to quit electoral politics in the run-up to polls. Besides Yediyurappa, who announced his retirement from electoral politics, Kundapur MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty also announced his retirement from electoral politics, followed by SA Ravindranath (Davanagere North).
If not Eshwarappa, the denial of a ticket to Shettar, a prominent Lingayat leader, could pose a problem for BJP. Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters in Delhi that Shettar had asked for one more opportunity to complete unfinished work in his constituency.
He said he had brought it to the attention of the party leadership. Bommai also said Eshwarappa has been telling him in private that he planned to retire, but they wanted him to continue in politics, if not in electoral politics.