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After being denied ticket, former Karnataka CM Jagdish Shettar to meet BJP national president JP Nadda
Discontent brewed as soon as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its much-anticipated list of candidates for the Karnataka assembly elections late on Tuesday evening.
Several senior leaders, former CMs, Deputy CMs and prominent leaders seemed to be unhappy with the party’s decision, with former deputy CM Laxman Savadi having already quit the party.
Amid the turmoil, former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar is likely to meet BJP national president JP Nadda around 4 in the afternoon.
Shettar is one of the senior leaders who was denied a ticket. Shettar is the sitting MLA from Hubli-Dharwad Central, where he defeated Congress candidate Dr Mahesh Nalwad by a margin of 21,306 votes in the 2018 assembly election.
A miffed Shettar had said that he would contest at any cost and had asked the party to reconsider its decision. He is likely to meet BJP national president JP Nadda around 4 in the evening.
“I will contest at any cost,” Shettar said after being denied a ticket last evening. He also disclosed that the high command asked him not to contest the elections at the last minute.
The six-time MLA has, however, asked the party to reconsider. “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,” he said.
Shettar highlighted his three decades of service to the party, called the BJP senior leadership’s decision ‘unacceptable’ and urged them to allow him to contest the 2023 Karnataka election.
A trusted aide of BS Yediyurappa, Shettar became the chief minister of Karnataka in 2012, when the state BJP was mired in a mining controversy. He had replaced DV Sadananda Gowda.
Shettar was also the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly. He is currently the MLA from the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) constituency, a seat he has held since the 2008 election.
The BJP released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections last night.
The list features 189 candidates, of which 52 are contesting for the first time. Among the new candidates are 32 from Other Backward Classes (OBC), 20 from Scheduled Castes (SC), and 16 from Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities.
The announcement also revealed that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will contest from the Shiggaon constituency. Additionally, BY Vijayendra, the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, will contest from the Shikaripura seat.
Other notable candidates include State Minister B Sriramulu, who will contest from Bellary Rural, and State Health Minister Dr Sudhakar K, who will contest from Chikkaballapur. State Minister Dr Ashwathnarayan CN will contest from the Malleshwaram seat, while Karnataka minister R Ashoka will contest from two seats, Padmanabhanagar and Kanakapura. Ashoka will be pitted against Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar from Kanakapura.
BJP’s Ramesh Jarakiholi has been fielded from his traditional seat of Gokak, while Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri is contesting from Sirsi.
The BJP has also fielded V Somanna from Varuna, who will be contesting against the former chief minister and Congress heavyweight Siddaramaiah. Former Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao, who joined the BJP from the AAP, has been fielded from Chamarajpet.
The BJP’s Central Election Committee met on Sunday, and senior party leaders from the state held discussions to finalize the list by incorporating suggestions made at the meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
