Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and party Parliamentary Board Member B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said that the party leadership told former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda not to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls this time which prompted him to quit electoral politics.
The former Union minister and sitting Lok Sabha MP from Bangalore North, Gowda announced on Wednesday, in a sudden development, that he has decided to retire from electoral politics.
"Sadananda Gowda has got instructions from the central leadership (of BJP). He will actively participate in the party activities, but he has decided not to contest in elections," Yediyurappa, former chief minister, told reporters in Bengaluru in response to a question on Gowda's move.
Responding to the question whether Gowda’s decision came following indications that he may not get a ticket this time, or after facing "neglect" from the high command, he said, "He (Gowda) has been told directly not to contest the polls this time. So, he has said that he has got several responsibilities from the party and there have not been any shortcomings from the party's side and that he will be involved in the party activities."
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Gowda had in June this year urged the party leadership to counter the speculations in some quarters that 13 incumbent BJP MPs, including himself, would not get party tickets for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next year, while seemingly expressing his frustration about the party doing little in this regard.
He also tried to call out the party for not consulting the state leaders forging an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) and had also expressed his disappointment about the delay in appointing a leader of opposition in the Karnataka assembly.
Gowda had resigned from the Union Council of Ministers in July 2021.