Missing veterans in BJP list sparks row in Karnataka

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s strategy of pushing for a generational shift in Karnataka sparked a row on Tuesday after former chief minister Jagdish Shettar reacted sharply to being told that he will not be picked for the upcoming polls and former deputy CM KS Eshwarappa’s announcement of retirement triggered protests in his home district.

The controversy came hours before the BJP announced 189 candidates for the May 10 assembly elections – its first list – and dropped four sitting lawmakers.

Shettar, 67, highlighted his track record as a legislator (he was elected to the assembly six times), his clean image, and his role in building the party in the state, and said he was hurt. “I have told them that I will contest the election,” he told reporters. Later in the day, the party appeared to hold out an olive branch with Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan saying he had spoken to the former CM.

Eshwarappa struck a more conciliatory note, writing to party chief JP Nadda that he will not contest the upcoming polls. “I am withdrawing from electoral politics...The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the last 40 years,” he wrote. This was followed by protests by his supporters in Shivamogga.

The BJP’s principal rival, the Congress, has already announced candidates for 166 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular) had named picks for 93 seats. The assembly has 224 seats in all.

As there was a delay in the BJP announcing its list of candidates for the May 10 elections, several MLAs considered close to former chief minister B S Yediyuruppa met him at his residence in Bengaluru. It is learnt that Yediyuruppa returned to Bengaluru on Monday night, not happy with the way tickets were being decided by the party high command. On Tuesday, however, he said, the party agreed to most of his suggestions and he had nothing more to contribute.

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Anticipating rebellion by aspirants and some lawmakers who were dropped, the BJP has formed informal teams that have started speaking to the party leaders. “Unofficially, some leaders have been given responsibility of the regions to pacify the party workers also. We are in touch with the aspirants,” said a party official aware of developments.

Shettar indicated that he would contest from Hubballi-Dharwad Central, raising the prospect of a revolt. Shettar is a Lingayat, the state’s most dominant community which accounts for 17% of the population.

“If they had told me two to three months ago, then it would have been respectable for me. When the nomination is just two days away (to begin), I am definitely hurt,” he said.“I have told them that I will contest the election. Whatever you have said is not acceptable to me. So, please reconsider your decision and give me an opportunity to contest the election again,” he further said.

In the evening, the party appeared to reach out to him. “Shettar ji is a senior leader, he will stay with us and we will be able to make him understand…I have spoken to him today,” Pradhan said.

Eshwarappa, 74, who has been besieged by controversies, including accusations of graft, struck a more conciliatory note, announcing that he would not contest the upcoming polls. “I am withdrawing from electoral politics...The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the last 40 years. I went from a booth in-charge to state party chief. I also had the honour of becoming deputy chief minister,” he wrote to Nadda.

HT learns that he wrote the letter after being prodded to do so. The Congress was quick to react. “Instead of a candidates list, senior leaders’ exit is happening on the BJP side. Instead of announcing tickets, the wickets are falling. Tired of making a profit from Eshwarappa when he was a minister and is now tired of making a profit during the ticket distribution too. He ran away from politics as he could not bear the humiliation of BJP,” the Congress tweeted.

Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said it was Eshwarappa’s personal decision.

“Eshwarappa has been speaking to us about it for the past few months, but we were trying to pacify him. Today, he has written to the high command and we must respect it. BJP has started a culture of giving up the seat to new faces. It has happened in other states and it is happening in our state. However, Congress has given a ticket to 92-year-old Shivashankarappa. This is the difference between them and us. With an intention to start a new system, we are taking tough decisions,” Bommai added.

As the news of Eshwarappa resigning spread like wildfire, hundreds of his supporters gathered before his residence in Shivamogga to protest his decision, They shouted slogans and burnt tyres to express their anger.

Shettar said he received a call asking him to step down.

In April last year,Eshwarappa’s name came up in connection with the death of contractor Santosh Patil who was found dead in an Udupi hotel, days after accusing the senior leader of corruption. The BJP leader, however, was cleared of the charges in a subsequent investigation.

A second party functionary, who too spoke on condition of anonymity, said it had become a practice in the party to encourage senior leaders to make way for “newer” faces. Since it came to power at the Centre in 2014, the BJP has followed the practice of not usually giving tickets or party posts to those above 75; it has also sought to ensure that state presidents and office bearers are mostly in the 50-55 years age group. In Karnataka, the party relaxed the age bar when it appointed BS Yediyurappa as the chief minister in 2019, when he was 76.

“There are several leaders who have had a long innings in public life; while their experience is valued, it is necessary to encourage younger and newer people to take their place in order to take the party into the next decade. Change, therefore, is natural,” the second functionary said.

While the BJP leadership has denied there are disagreements over candidate selection, there were murmurs that the high command did not approve of many names recommended by the state.

“The central leadership is clear that tickets will not be given to family members unless there is a proven record of work. The final list was delayed on account of some last-minute changes and because the party did not want rebels to spoil the show,” added the second party functionary.

That could still happen. The deadline for filing nominations is April 20.

To be sure, senior BJP leaders stepping away from electoral politics on the eve of elections is not unprecedented. In Gujarat, which went to polls in December, former chief minister Vijay Rupani, former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel and senior party leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama announced their decision of not contesting the assembly election ahead of the polls.