The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, urging measures to prevent party rebel KS Eshwarappa from utilizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image during his election campaign.
Eshwarappa, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, was denied a ticket by the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls and is now contesting independently from Shivamogga. He is pitted against BY Raghvendra, the son of former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.
In its complaint, the BJP expresses dismay over Eshwarappa's attempt to mislead the public by suggesting his affiliation with Narendra Modi and BJP leaders. The party asserts that Eshwarappa's portrayal of association with the BJP is inaccurate.
Despite not being an official BJP candidate, Eshwarappa has been incorporating Prime Minister Modi's photo in his campaign materials. He recently claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had contacted him, urging him to withdraw his candidature, but he remained steadfast in his decision to contest.
To safeguard against potential legal action from the BJP regarding the use of PM Modi's image for campaigning, Eshwarappa preemptively filed a caveat in the Karnataka High Court on April 6.
In the electoral battleground of Shivamogga, which has been dominated by Yediyurappa and his son BY Raghavendra since 2009, Eshwarappa faces formidable opponents. Besides Raghvendra, Eshwarappa will also contend with Geetha Shivarajkumar of the Congress.
