BJP’s veteran leader and five-time MLA K.S. Eshwarappa, who resigned from the Cabinet on Friday, has been toeing Hindutva hardline for the last three decades of public life. While he has held several positions in the party and in the government, he has also been known for constantly courting controversies.
The 73-year-old leader served as the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister under four Chief Ministers — B.S. Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, H.D. Kumaraswamy (coalition government), and Basavaraj Bommai — and held nearly a half a dozen portfolios.
A protégé of BJP veterans Mr. Yediyurappa and D.H. Shankaramurthy, Mr. Eshwarappa is credited with contributing for the growth of the party in the State, particularly in Shivamogga. Known for not mincing words, he opposed “politics of dynasty”’ when Mr. Yediyurappa allowed his son B.Y. Raghavendra to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
