Overview

• S T Somashekar of Yeshwanthpur and A Shivaram Hebbar of Yellapur were expelled by the BJP’s central disciplinary committee after ignoring show-cause notices issued in March
• The expulsions reduce the party’s strength in the Karnataka Assembly to 62 MLAs as BJP aims to shore up discipline before local body elections
• Both legislators defected from Congress in 2019 under ‘Operation Lotus’ and later aligned with Congress post-2023, even cross-voting and abstaining in the February 2024 Rajya Sabha polls
• State BJP president B Y Vijayendra said the high command approved the six-year ban following extensive deliberations and unheeded warnings to the MLAs
• Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar criticized the action as selective enforcement, noting that other BJP figures facing more serious allegations remain untouched