Bengaluru, April 22 : Rebel BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka as an Independent nominee, was been suspended from the party for six years Monday.

An order in this regard was issued by the disciplinary committee of the BJP after Eshwarappa's decision to not withdraw his nomination from the high-profile Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency, which is also being contested by BJP's B.Y. Raghavendra, the son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.

Reacting to the development, Eshwarappa said, 'I will win the elections and return to the BJP. The father-son duo has been spreading falsehoods since the beginning. Yediyurappa claimed that I would attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's programme in Shivamogga, which I didn't. Later, he claimed that I will not file nomination, but I went ahead. I have the support of the Congress and JD-S."

Geetha Shivarajkumar, the daughter of late former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa, is contesting from Shivamogga on a Congress ticket this time. She is the sister of state Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, while her husband is Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar.

/IANS