BJP Expels Two Karnataka MLAs for Six Years Over Anti-Party Activities
S T Somashekar and A Shivaram Hebbar removed from party for alleged dissent, says BJP state chief B Y Vijayendra
Initiating action over repeated violations of party discipline, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Central Disciplinary Committee on Tuesday expelled two of its Karnataka MLAs — S.T. Somashekar and Arbail Shivaram Hebbar — from the party for six years with immediate effect. Both leaders have also been relieved of any party posts they may have held.
The disciplinary action follows show cause notices served to them by the Central Disciplinary Committee in March this year. Earlier, on March 31, the party had expelled Basanagouda Patil Yatnal for six years on similar grounds of indiscipline.
In separate letters to the MLAs, Om Pathak, Member Secretary of the Central Disciplinary Committee, stated that the party leadership had taken note of their repeated violations of party discipline and decided to cancel their primary membership and expel them for six years.
S.T. Somashekar represents the Yeshwanthpur Assembly constituency in Bengaluru, while Shivaram Hebbar represents Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district. Both were among 15 Congress MLAs who resigned in 2019 to join the BJP, leading to the fall of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. The coalition, formed after the 2018 Assembly elections, had H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) as Chief Minister.
After the BJP came to power in 2019, Somashekar and Hebbar served as ministers — Somashekar as Minister for Cooperation and Mysuru district in-charge, and Hebbar as Minister of Labour. Following the Congress party's return to power in the 2023 Assembly elections, Somashekar was seen identifying with Congress leaders and even campaigned for Congress candidate C.P. Yogeshwar in the Channapatna bypoll. Yogeshwar defeated BJP-JD(S) consensus candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who now serves as Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel.
Reacting to the expulsions, BJP Karnataka president B.Y. Vijayendra said both MLAs had repeatedly gone against the party line and caused considerable embarrassment through their actions.
