He went public with his decision shortly after he convened a meeting of his supporters in Shivamogga late on Friday,  following the denial of ticket to his son, K.E. Kantesh from the Haveri Lok Sabha seat.

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Mounting a searing attack on former CM B.S. Yediyurappa whom he blamed for going back on his promised to give a ticket to Kantesh from Haveri, he said that Yediyurappa, had made the promise soon after he himself failed to get  a ticket  to stand from Shivamogga.

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Hitting out at BSY with whom he has had an uneasy relationship and a bitter, long-running rivalry, he said:

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“ While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been totally against dynasty politics, Yediyurappa has been promoting it.”

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“While one son is the MLA from Shikaripur, another son is a sitting MP from Shivamogga. He has been  supporting Raghavendra, Vijayendra and Shobha Karandlaje. Look how he managed to get tickets for Raghavendra and for Shobha,” he charged.

Even hardcore Hindu propagators like Nalin Kumar Kateel, Pratap Simha, CT Ravi have been totally sidelined, he pointed out, implying BSY had played a role. He also accused Yediyurappa of pressurising Basavaraj Bommai to contest from Haveri and Jagadish Shettar from Belagavi.

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"If you open my heart, you will find Lord Ram and Modi. But if you open the heart of Yediyurappa, you will only find Raghavendra and Vijayendra," he said bitterly.

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Throwing down the gauntlet to the BJP top brass, he said  that he didn’t  care if he was expelled from the party for his actions, but was sure that if he did win, all the doors to the BJP would be open and that he would be inducted back into the party.