BJP expels rebels Sharath Bachegowda, Kaviraj Urs as they fail to withdraw from bypoll contest
Bengaluru, Nov 21: Ruling BJP in Karnataka on Thursday expelled from its primary membership rebels Sharath Bachegowda and Kaviraj Urs, contesting the coming assembly bypolls as independent candidates, for anti-party activity.
In separate letters to both Sharath Bachegowda fighting from Hoskote assembly constituency and Urs from Vijayanagara, BJP said, their contest against the party's official candidate was being considered as anti-party activity.
BJP on Wednesday had asked the party rebels to withdraw their candidature by Thursday, the last day for the process.
As the two did not withdraw their candidature, the sent the letters, a copy of which has been released to the media.
After the BJP gave the Hoskote ticket to disqualified Congress legislator M T B Nagaraj, Sharath Bachegowda has jumped into the fray as an independent.
JD(S) has decided to support him and has not fielded a candidate.
Son of BJP MP from Chikkaballapura B N Bachegowda, he had remained adamant on contesting with repeated attempts by the party leadership to persuade him to back out in vain.
Sharath Bachegowda, who was also secretary of BJP Yuva Morcha, had earlier been appointed Chairman of Karnataka Housing Board by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in an attempt to "pacify" him.
Yediyurappa had recently indicated the party has even decided to expel him, if he doesn't withdraw from the contest.
Nagaraj as Congress candidate had defeated Sharath Bachegowda in 2018 assembly polls by over 7,000 votes.
Urs has filed his nomination as independent candidate from Vijayanagara, rebelling against the BJPs decision to field Anand Singh, another disqualified MLA.
The party's decision to expel Urs comes after repeated attempts to "pacify" him.
With winning at least six seats crucial for the government's survival, BJP has fielded 13 of the 16 disqualified legislators, who joined the party, as its candidates from their respective constituencies in the bypolls.
Among the 15 constituencies going to bypolls, 12 were held by Congress and three by JD(S), whose coalition government collapsed due to rebellion by the disqualified MLAs.
The Congress and JDS, contesting the bypolls on their own, have vowed to defeat the defectors (the disqualified MLAs) and said people would teach them a lesson.
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After Amethi, Congress' 'sahabzade' will lose Wayanad seat also: PM Modi targets Rahul Gandhi
Nanded (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying that in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, "Congress' sahabzade" will lose from Wayanad constituency in Kerala and he will have to look for a safer seat after that.
Addressing a rally at Nanded in Maharashtra to campaign for BJP candidates from Nanded and Hingoli seats, Modi said the information available for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls indicates that there has been a one-sided voting in favour of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Referring to Rahul Gandhi, Modi said, "After losing Amethi, the Congress' sahabzade will lose Wayanad as well. So he will have to look for a safe seat after April 26."
In an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi, he said some INDIA bloc leaders left the Lok Sabha and moved to the Rajya Sabha as they have no courage to contest elections.
"For the first time, the family will not vote for a Congress candidate in the constituency where they live as there is no party candidate there," he said.
Modi said he has spent 10 years fixing the bad governance of the Congress regimes.
"A lot of work needs to be done," he added.
The Congress has been a barrier in the development of farmers and poor people, he alleged.
"The agriculture crisis did not happen now. It happened because of the flawed policies of Congress," Modi said.
Targeting the INDIA bloc, he said it has no face to project and people do not know whom to entrust the country's future.
"They may claim anything, but the reality is that Congress leaders have accepted defeat even before the announcement of polls," he said.
He termed the opposition alliance a grouping of selfish people who have come together to protect their corrupt practices.
He appealed to voters to come out in large numbers to exercise their voting right in the Lok Sabha elections.
"You are not doing any favour by voting. you are securing the country's future. I want to boost the morale of the party workers from the opposition. You (opposition leaders) are sure to lose the polls, but you will get a chance some day. But you must appeal to voters to vote," he said.
Modi said the INDIA bloc constituents were contesting the elections against each other in 25 per cent seats.
"After (the election results on) June 4, they will be fighting more with each other," he said.
He said that without the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, what fate would have befallen Sikhs who came from Afghanistan.
The NDA under PM Modi is seeking a stronger majority for a third consecutive term, while the constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc are hoping for a rebound after facing reverses in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
