The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled K S Eshwarappa, a former deputy chief minister and state unit president, for six years on Monday. Eshwarappa had violated party discipline by contesting the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate.
Eshwarappa's decision to contest the polls came after his son, K E Kantesh, was denied a ticket from Haveri. Eshwarappa blamed state BJP president B Y Vijayendra and his father, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa, for the denial.
Eshwarappa's expulsion came on the last day for withdrawal of candidature for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. The party's decision was taken by the state disciplinary committee president, Lingaraj Patil.
Eshwarappa is one of the founding members of the BJP in Karnataka. He is credited with building the party from the grassroots along with Yediyurappa and the late H N Ananth Kumar.
Eshwarappa has accused Yediyurappa of sidelining those who espoused the cause of Hindutva. He has also claimed that the party in the state is in the clutches of Yediyurappa and his family.
Eshwarappa has stressed that he is not against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had opted out of contesting the Assembly polls last year and had requested the party's central leadership not to consider fielding him from any constituency.