Veteran Karnataka BJP functionary and former Deputy Chief Minister KS Eshwarappa on Tuesday said he is retiring from electoral politics. Eshwarappa, in a letter to national party president JP Nadda, said he will not be contesting the state assembly elections on May 10.

In the brief letter written in Kannada, the veteran legislator said he was making this decision of his own volition.

Eshwarappa will turn 75 in June — the unofficial age bar in the BJP for leaders to contest polls and hold official positions. Though there have been occasional exceptions as well.

The BJP has yet to release its first list of candidates for the election to the 224-member state legislature.

Who is Eshwarappa?

Eshwarappa, who entered active politics after the Emergency in 1977. He made his debut in electoral politics in 1989, winning the Shimoga seat by defeating the then state health minister KH Srininvas by a slim margin. He is a five-time MLA and an MLC, and over his career, held several cabinet portfolios — rural development and panchayat raj (2019-2022), youth empowerment and sports (2019-2020), reenue (2012-2013), energy (2008-2010), and major and medium irrigation (2006-2007). He also served as the state's deputy chief minister from 2012 to 2013.

But more than anything, Eshwarappa is known for the sheer number of controversies he's racked up, including his alleged role in the suicide of a contrator, and several instances of hate speech.

Most recently, last month, he made controversy when he wondered in public whether "Allah is deaf" while prayers were playing from a mosque.

— With agency inputs

Also read: Karnataka elections 2023: Check full list of Congress candidates here