Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, May 27: In a decisive move, the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expelled senior legislators S T Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar for a period of six years, citing continued anti-party conduct. The announcement was made by state party president B Y Vijayendra on Tuesday.

According to Vijayendra, the action followed extensive discussions with the party’s central leadership. “The decision was taken after due deliberation by the high command,” he stated.

Somashekar, MLA from Yeshwanthpur, and Hebbar, representing Yellapur, are both political veterans who played key roles in the 2019 political upheaval that led to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition and the formation of a BJP government. They had defected from the Congress to join the BJP at the time.

However, in a political twist, both leaders have recently been seen aligning themselves with Congress-led events and have publicly extended support to the current state government. Their actions, widely viewed as betrayal by the BJP leadership, prompted the disciplinary action.