Senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa today said he would not contest the May 10 Karnataka election, adding to the intense speculation about the party delaying the announcement of candidates.
"I am withdrawing from electoral politics," Mr Eshwarappa said in a letter to BJP president JP Nadda.
"The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the last 40 years. I went from a booth in-charge to state party chief. I also had the honour of becoming Deputy Chief Minister," he wrote in a brief letter in Kannada. He said the decision was his own.
This may have been a preemptive move by Mr Eshwarappa, who had hinted last month that he would be dropped as a candidate.
Mr Eshwarappa turns 75 this June, hitting the unofficial age bar in the BJP for leaders to contest polls and hold posts.
The veteran legislator has often been at the centre of controversies due to his unfiltered statements.
Last month, he had controversially wondered in public, while Azaan prayers were playing from a mosque, whether "Allah is deaf" that loudspeakers are required to call him.
"This (azaan) is a headache for me, wherever I go I have the same problem. Does Allah hear prayers only if one screams on a microphone? Is Allah deaf? I have no doubt there will be an end to this soon as there is a Supreme Court judgement. PM Modi has asked us to respect all religions, but I must ask can Allah hear only if you scream on a microphone? This issue must be resolved soon," Mr Eshwarappa commented.
"Even we Hindus pray in temples, recite shlokas and sing bhajans, we have more faith than them and it is Bharat Mata who protects religions, but if you say that Allah listens only if you pray with a microphone I must question if he's deaf. It is not needed, this issue must be resolved".
The BJP has pushed its announcement of candidates for the election to the 224-member assembly to virtually the last minute. Nominations close on Thursday.
The party has held marathon meetings to finalise candidates.
Reports suggest many sitting MLAs have been dropped and defectors from Congress and Janata Dal Secular, who helped install a BJP government, will be rewarded.
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