Bengaluru: The BJP’s second list of 23 candidates for the 10 May Karnataka polls released late Wednesday left out six more sitting MLAs. It also kept up the suspense regarding the fate of former chief minister Jagadish Shettar — who has publicly expressed his anger over allegedly being asked to make way for others — as his constituency Hubli-Dharwad (Central) was not on the list.
The release of the second list prompted another sitting MLA to announce his resignation Thursday. After Deepak Doddaiah was named BJP candidate from Mudigere, three-time MLA M.P. Kumaraswamy quit the party, and blamed national general secretary C T Ravi for not getting nominated.
This comes two days after Shivamogga MLA K. S. Eshwarappa announced that he was retiring from electoral politics, hours before the BJP released its first list of candidates. The senior leader from the Kuruba community, has been trying to secure a ticket for his son, it is learnt. The BJP did not name its candidate from Shivamogga in the second list as well.
Meanwhile, graft accused legislator from Channagiri Madal Virupakshappa has been left off the list. Other sitting MLAs who have been denied tickets include Nehru Olekar (Haveri), Sukumar Shetty (Byndoor), N. Linganna (Mayakonda), C.M. Nimbannavar (Kalaghatagi), and S. A. Ravindranath (Davangere North).
The BJP has fielded Karunakara Reddy, the brother of mining magnate Gali Janardhana Reddy as its candidate from Harapanahalli in the newly created district of Vijayanagara. Karunakara Reddy had won from the same constituency in 2018 by bagging a total of 67,603 votes and defeating M.P. Ravindra of the Congress, who secured 57,956 votes.
Ever since it released its first list of candidates, the BJP has been in damage control mode in Karnataka amid a spate of resignations, resentment among those denied tickets, and protests by their supporters. The party has been taking a cautious approach for the upcoming elections and claims to have introduced 52 new faces, although most are replacements for those who lost the 2018 elections or children of legislators.
The party has so far released 212 names, while the Congress has released 166 names in two lists and the Janata Dal (Secular) has released 93. The last date for filing nominations is 20 April, while voting will take place on 10 May and results will be announced on 13 May.
There are two women on the BJP’s second list, Lalitha Anapur contesting from Gurumitkal and Ashwini Sampangi from Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), which is reserved for the SC community. This brings the total number of women candidates announced by the BJP so far to 10 among 212 names, out of the total 224. The last list of 12 remains under various stages of discussion.
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Graft accused MLA left out
The BJP has named Shiv Kumar as its Channagiri candidate in place of Madal Virupakshappa, who is currently facing charges of corruption. Last month, Virupakshappa’s son, Prashanth Madal, chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), was allegedly caught accepting a bribe after a contractor filed a complaint last month. Karnataka Lokayukta officials reportedly caught him accepting the bribe — Rs 40 lakh in cash out of a total Rs 80 lakh — demanded in return for a tender of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), a state-owned company of which his father was then chairman.
Subsequent raids on the homes and offices of MLA Virupakshappa and his aides, including officials from KSDL, unearthed over Rs 8 crore in cash. The raids and graft charges added to the piling up of corruption allegations against the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government ahead of elections.
Virupakshappa was arrested on 27 March after his bail application was rejected.
Meanwhile, the question mark over ex-CM Shettar will or won’t be allowed to contest the polls remains. The Lingayat leader had rushed to Delhi Wednesday after telling mediapersons that he will contest at all costs.
“The national president (of the BJP) J.P. Nadda had asked me to come here to discuss Dharwad Central. I, along with our parliamentary affairs minister, went and discussed with him, gave him all the information and he said that they will deliberate further on it and take a decision,” Shettar told mediapersons in the national capital Wednesday evening.
Shettar has been very vocal about not being consulted before the BJP allegedly took the decision to drop him, stating that not even one senior leader of the party had called to inform him about their stand until the list was announced.
Former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa has thrown his might behind Shettar, stating that he was sure the party will accommodate the senior leader. “The party will 100 per cent give a ticket to Shettar and all of us wish to see him contesting from Hubli (Dharwad). I have also spoken to the high command,” Yediyurappa said in Bengaluru Wednesday.
There were protests in several districts and constituencies after several senior leaders were not given tickets. Former minister and six-time MLA S Angara too said he was pained by the BJP’s decision not to inform him about being left out and then announced his retirement from active politics Wednesday.
The same day, Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat broke into tears over being left off the first list. The BJP fielded Yashpal Suvarna in his place.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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