Karnataka polls: BJP MLA quits party after denied ticket

BENGALURU: BJP MLA from Mudigere constituency M.P. Kumaraswamy on Thursday resigned from the party after his name did not figure in second list of candidates for the May 10 Karnataka polls.

Kumaraswamy was an aspirant from the reserve constituency, but the party decided field Deepak Doddaiah instead.

According to party sources, Kumaraswamy was denied ticket following his failure to perform. Kumaraswamy was in news after he was chased down and beaten up by the people following the death of a woman in an elephant attack. Police had resorted to lathi charge to quell the mob.

He was also convicted in eight cases of cheque dishonor and sentenced to pay Rs 1.23 crore to the complainant in February.

“I am stepping down from the primary membership of the party after being saddened by the developments in party” Kumaraswamy stated in his resignation letter to the state president Nalin Kumar Kateel.

In his Facebook live, Kumaraswamy stated that he had never compromised with development and his gesture of treating people of all castes and religion alike has been taken wrongly by the BJP high command. “It is a big surprise that my protest on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha demanding compensation to farmers for crop loss has been taken wrongly too,” he stressed.

The party has denied tickets to seven MLAs in the second list. It is yet to announce a candidate for the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency represented by former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and Shivamogga constituency represented by former minister K.S. Eshwarappa.

The BJP has to announce tickets for 12 candidates. The state will go for polling on May 10 and results will be announced on May 13. The total number of seats are 224 and the 113 seats are required for majority.