logo
Karnataka BJP expels party MLAs Shivaram Hebbar and S T Somashekar for 6 years over ‘indiscipline'

Karnataka BJP expels party MLAs Shivaram Hebbar and S T Somashekar for 6 years over ‘indiscipline'

Indian Express27-05-2025

The BJP's Central Disciplinary Committee Tuesday expelled two party legislators, A Shivaram Hebbar and S T Somashekar, for six years for 'repeated violations of the party discipline'. The action against the BJP MLAs was based on their response to a showcase notice issued by the party Committee on March 25 this year.
Before this, the Bharatiya Janata Party expelled firebrand party MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal from its ranks for six years in March this year.
Though both were ministers under the erstwhile BJP rule, Hebbar and Somashekar were on the fringes of the party after the Congress came to power. They were previously in the Congress, and had joined the BJP during the 2019 'Operation Lotus' which saw the defection of 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs.
The two MLAs, especially Somashekar, caused an embarrassment for the state BJP unit by defying party diktats. In the Karnataka Assembly, the Yeshwantpur MLA backed several Bills tabled by the Congress government, which the BJP had opposed. He had also refused to walk out with the BJP legislators during their protests inside the House.
The trouble for the two started in February 2024 when Somashekar cross-voted for Congress candidates during the Rajya Sabha polls, and Hebbar abstained. Their rebellion was an agenda for the state core committee during its meeting held in December 2024, as they had 'identified themselves with the Congress'.
Somashekar and Hebbar, who are three-time MLAs, had also backed Congress candidates during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Though this had not ensured victory for Congress candidates in constituencies, which they were part of, it had attracted the wrath of the BJP leadership.
Somashekar was once considered close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He was associated with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga leader like himself, since Congress came to power in 2023.
Somashekar had served as the chairman of the Bangalore Development Authority during the year-long Kumaraswamy regime between 2018 and 2019. Post his switch to the BJP, he held the cooperation portfolio in the B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai cabinets.
Hebbar hails from Yellapur in the Uttara Kannada district of the state. He, along with Somashekar, is said to have felt sidelined after the BJP lost the recent Assembly elections, and Yediyurappa's influence on the state unit of the party waned.
With the two expulsions, the strength of the BJP in the Karnataka Assembly declined to 62. While three MLAs were suspended this year, former CM Basavaraj Bommai had quit as MLA after he won the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Setback for India: Jairam Ramesh after US general praises Pakistan's terror fight
Setback for India: Jairam Ramesh after US general praises Pakistan's terror fight

India Today

time22 minutes ago

  • India Today

Setback for India: Jairam Ramesh after US general praises Pakistan's terror fight

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the Indian government on Wednesday over recent remarks by a top United States military official praising Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts. Taking to X, Ramesh wrote, 'Recently, the head of the US Central Command called Pakistan a 'great partner in the counter-terrorism campaign'. What will our Prime Minister and his ovation say to this? Is this not a diplomatic setback for India?'advertisementHis statement followed US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla's testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, where the outgoing commander described Pakistan as a 'phenomenal partner' in counter-terrorism comments came at a time when India had been actively campaigning to expose Pakistan's support for cross-border terrorism, particularly after the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in April. During the hearing, General Kurilla urged Washington not to adopt a zero-sum approach in South Asia, stating that the US must maintain strategic relations with both India and Pakistan."We need to have a relationship with Pakistan and with India. I do not believe it is a binary switch that we can't have one with Pakistan if we have a relationship with India,' he said. 'We should look at the merits of the relationship for the positives that it has.'advertisementKurilla's remarks came even as India stepped up diplomatic efforts to hold Pakistan accountable for its alleged role in the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 people on April 22. In response, India carried out precision air strikes on terror infrastructure across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May military escalation ended on May 10 after the Directors General of Military Operations from both countries reached an officials, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, had reiterated that India would not accept any equivalence between victims of terrorism and the perpetrators. New Delhi also expressed concern over multiple international responses that appeared to hyphenate India and Pakistan during the brief military Kurilla, who is expected to retire later this summer, also spoke about Pakistan's role in combatting the Islamic State's regional affiliate, ISIS-Khorasan, also known as IS-KP. He acknowledged efforts by the Pakistani military and army chief General Asim Munir in countering the terror Watch

Caste survey decision by Cong brass, not Karnataka government, says CM Siddaramaiah
Caste survey decision by Cong brass, not Karnataka government, says CM Siddaramaiah

Time of India

time30 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Caste survey decision by Cong brass, not Karnataka government, says CM Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah sought to clarify Wednesday that it was the Congress brass's decision and not his govt's to undertake a fresh caste survey, suggesting unease at the prospect of his core vote bank of minorities, backward classes and Dalits not taking kindly to re-enumeration after leaked data from the 2015 exercise showed a massive jump in their numbers. Siddaramaiah, under the pump for the June 4 stampede in Bengaluru in which 11 cricket fans died, told reporters at Gauribidanur in Chikkaballapur district that there were "some complaints" about the Kantharaj Commission's caste survey data. Won't reject 2015 census report: Siddaramaiah There were claims that the data was outdated, so some suggested a fresh enumeration within a relatively shorter timeline. We won't reject the (2015) report. We have already accepted it in principle," Siddaramaiah said. On whether he was disappointed with Congress's decision to go for fresh survey, he said, "We will act per the high command's directive. It's not our decision."Siddaramaiah and his deputy minister D K Shivakumar had been summoned to Delhi Tuesday for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, purportedly to explain state govt's failure to stem the outrage over the stampede sparked by an allegedly mismanaged victory parade for IPL-winning cricket franchise RCB. While Siddaramaiah appeared wary of owning the decision to enumerate caste demography afresh, Shivakumar batted on the front foot. He questioned why BJP was criticising the decision to conduct a new survey after refusing to accept data from previous one. "Why such opposition when we are trying to address concerns? We are not rejecting the Kantharaj Commission's report. We are only trying to correct the shortcomings of the earlier survey," DKS said.

‘Authoritarian' BJP wants to unleash anarchy in UP elections: Akhilesh
‘Authoritarian' BJP wants to unleash anarchy in UP elections: Akhilesh

Time of India

time31 minutes ago

  • Time of India

‘Authoritarian' BJP wants to unleash anarchy in UP elections: Akhilesh

1 2 Lucknow: Cautioning the party cadre of BJP's plans to "unleash anarchy" during the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said the saffron party is "riddled with authoritarian mindset and conduct". "BJP has become a challenge for the Indian Constitution because its very character is undemocratic. The BJP functionaries and cadre have unleashed anarchy by their actions like grabbing land from the possession of the poor. The BJP now stands for 'Bhu-mafia Party'. The entire BJP govt is indulging in grabbing whatever it can lay its hands upon," Akhilesh said, addressing party functionaries and workers at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia auditorium at party headquarters in Lucknow. "Robberies, murders and rape of minor girls have become the order of the day as the govt has failed to control crime, particularly against women and girl child," he said. Acknowledging the efforts of the party cadre and foot soldiers on ground, Akhilesh said the SP functionaries were braving the scorching summer sun to reach out to the people and inform them about the failures of the BJP. "Despite mercury soaring beyond 42 degrees Celsius during the day, our partymen are going from door to door to share the sentiments of almost every section of the society which is unhappy with the BJP govt," Akhilesh said, adding that such dedicated efforts would ensure the party's reach in every corner of the state and beyond. "SP is fighting the BJP at every front, be it failure of the govt in the state as well as the Centre, and at the ideological level as well. We will continue to do so to keep up with the commitment we have with the people and work hard to play a constructive role in taking UP on the path of development once again, like we did during the erstwhile SP govt," he said. 'Beware the ides of June' Lucknow: A cryptic social media post from Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has triggered a buzz in the corridors of power about some political developments in the BJP around June 15. A couplet posted by Akhilesh on X in Hindi, read: "15 June ko shrey lene ki Bhajpai yukti, kisi ki niyukti to kisi ki vimukti (June 15 will see BJP's mechanism of taking credit for appointing some, liberating some others)." In political circles, the post is being seen in the light of the three-day national level training camp of the BJP being organised for its lawmakers in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store