Former Karnataka Chief Minister and six-time BJP MLA Jagadish Shettar said he will meet the party’s national president JP Nadda on Wednesday and expects “positive things to happen.” BJP on Tuesday announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls and Shettar’s name was excluded. “I will reach Delhi today to meet the party’s national president JP Nadda. I expect positive things will happen. In the coming days, the party High Command and state leaders will specify everything”, Shettar said.
Shettar’s name did not figure in the list of candidates released by the BJP yesterday.
BJP declared 189 candidates for Karnataka assembly polls as it sought to strike a balance in terms of representation of various castes and communities while putting up “strong candidates” against senior Congress leaders.
Apart from fresh faces, the BJP has also focused on “social engineering” in its first list of candidates, party sources said.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will recontest from the Shiggaon constituency.
Party sources said the list has 52 fresh faces and 21 sitting MLAs have been dropped.
The polling will take place for 224 seats in the state assembly on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13. Given the party’s strong support among Lingayats, it has decided to give 51 members of the community tickets. The list includes 32 OBC candidates, 30 Scheduled Castes candidates, and 16 Scheduled Tribes candidates. There are eight female candidates on the list. Former IAS and IPS officers, five advocates, nine doctors, three academicians, former government employees, and social activists make up the organisation.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who is also the BJP’s Karnataka co-in-charge, said the list is a mix of dynamic new faces and experienced leaders.
“I am confident that they will collaborate to accelerate Karnataka’s growth. Karnataka will reach new heights of development, progress, and prosperity under the dual-engine government “he wrote in a tweet . The minister said every section of society, including marginalised, women and youth has been given an opportunity.There are no candidates from the Muslim community on the list. According to party sources, candidates for the remaining 35 seats will be chosen by Wednesday afternoon. BY Vijayendra, son of former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, is one of the prominent candidates announced by the party. The BJP has fielded Manikanta Rathod, a 28-year-old youth against Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge from Chittapur.
State Minister B Sriramulu will contest from Bellary Rural, State Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K from Chikkaballapur and State Minister Dr Ashwathnarayan CN from Malleshwaram seat.
State Minister R Ashoka will contest from two seats- Padmanabhanagar and Kanakapura. He is pitted against Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar in Kanakapura.
BJP general secretary CT Ravi will contest from Chikmagalur.
V Somanna will contest against Congress leader Siddaramaiah from Varuna seat. V Somanna will also contest from Chamarajanagar seat. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is the party’s poll in-charge in Karnataka, and party general secretary Arun Singh addressed a press conference here.
According to Arun Singh, the BJP’s graph is rising under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He claimed that Congress is beset by “divisions and groupism,” while JD-S is a “sinking ship.”
BJP leaders stated that the party conducted an extensive feedback exercise before deciding on party candidates and expressed confidence in the party regaining power in the southern state.
Congress has already announced 166 candidates across two lists.