Former Minister and BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa on Sunday, April 30, described himself as a “disciplined soldier” of the BJP. Mr. Eshwarappa, who was among the BJP MLAs dropped by the party from candidates chosen to contest the coming Assembly elections in the State, said he has been taught to abide by the decision taken by the seniors in the party.
“In BJP, the senior leaders are wise and we have to accept whatever decisions they take as disciplined soldiers,” he said.
With regard to the party leaders, who quit the BJP in protest against the leadership’s decision against fielding them in the elections, Mr. Eshwarappa said the leaders, who did not follow the discipline, will face the consequences of their actions.
With regard to the contest in Varuna Assembly segment, where former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is pitted against Housing Minister V. Somanna, Mr. Eshwarappa said the Congress leader had considered Chamundeshwari and Varuna as his “personal property” just like Indira Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were considering parts of Uttar Pradesh as their fiefs.
But, Mr. Siddaramaiah lost Chamundeshwari in the last elections and will lose the upcoming elections in Varuna. Just like he lost Chamundeshwari elections last time and abandoned the constituency, Mr. Siddaramaiah will abandon Varuna after losing the coming elections, the BJP leader said.
Though Mr. Siddaramaiah has said that he will not contest the next elections, Mr. Eshwarappa claimed that Mr. Siddaramaiah will return to the electoral fray again next time. But, it remains to be seen which constituency he will chose next time, he said.
Mr. Eshwarappa, who said he was in Mysuru to participate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road show, said people of the country had recognised the good work of the BJP Government at the Centre. He expressed optimism of the people in Karnataka voting in favour of BJP in State by acknowledging the Central Government schemes.
