Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai is under fire from BJP leaders denied tickets to contest the Assembly polls as a rebellion swept the ruling party desperate to retain its only government in the south.

More BJP lawmakers resigned on Thursday and blamed senior leaders including Bommai for sidelining them, as the second list of 23 candidates announced on Wednesday intensified the strife in the party.

The party had announced 189 candidates so far and 12 remain. It had dropped nine incumbent MLAs in the first list, while seven were denied tickets in the second.

Haveri (SC) MLA Nehru Olekar, among the incumbent lawmakers who were not renominated, blamed Bommai for his plight and vowed to ensure that the chief minister loses from his home turf, Shiggaon.

In the second list of 23 candidates released late on Wednesday, the party nominated Gavidasappa Gyamannavar for the Haveri seat where Olekar was already in campaign mode.

“Bommai has been unhappy about my growth as a leader. The person who got the ticket (Gyamannavar) has never worked for the party or worked among the people,” Olekar told reporters on Thursday at a public protest with hundreds of his supporters.

Former deputy chief minister and incumbent member of the Legislative Council, Laxman Savadi, also accused Bommai of denying him a ticket to contest from Athani in Belgium district.

Olekar went on to level corruption charges against Bommai, accusing him of “looting the people in connection with a Rs 1,500-crore drip irrigation project. Bommai looted money along with the contractor while he didn’t provide funds for basic needs like street lights in my constituency”.

The influential Dalit leader has called a meeting of his supporters on Friday to decide on the future course of action, even as rumours were rife about him joining the Janata Dal Secular.

Mudigere MLA M.P. Kumaraswamy resigned from the BJP on Thursday as dissidence roiled the party that has already seen several senior leaders either quitting or “retiring” in protest.

While Kumaraswamy blamed BJP national general secretary C.T. Ravi for being refused renomination, party sources said his poor show as an MLA was the reason.

Kumaraswamy, a loyalist of veteran leader B.S. Yediyurappa who is not contesting this time, said: “The BJP won’t get even 50 seats if Yediyurappa switches off his phone for a week. Without Yediyurappa, the people won’t even attend the BJP’s public meetings.”

Legislative Council member R. Shankar is another leader who has resigned from the BJP over being denied a ticket.

Protests broke out in several constituencies, including Athani in Belgaum where Savadi had sought to contest from. An influential leader from the Lingayat community, Savadi met his supporters outside his home on Thursday and said he would resign from the BJP on Friday.

Hundreds of his supporters thronged the streets around his home, while a large number of his supporters said they would resign from the BJP.

Relative and former political secretary of Yediyurappa, N.R. Santosh, broke down during a protest rally organised by his supporters after being denied the ticket for Arsikere in Hassan. Hundreds of party workers who had gathered at the venue promised to support whatever decision he took.

State capital Bangalore was also not devoid of protests as hundreds of BJP workers came out against the decision to deny the Byatarayanapura ticket to Muneendra Kumar, who said he would announce his decision on the next step at a meeting on Friday.

Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who flew to Delhi where he met party chief J.P. Nadda on Wednesday to demand renomination from Hubli-Dharwad Central, is likely to take a call on taking the field as an Independent once the party finalises the last 12 candidates.