52 Fresh Candidates Among 189 Names In BJP’s First List For Karnataka
The BJP has announced the first list of Karnataka election candidates
Bengaluru:
The BJP has announced the first list of 189 candidates for the Karnataka assembly election. Several MLAs have been dropped and Congress turncoats chosen in the first list. A second list will come soon, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
R Ashok will contest from his home seat Padmanabhanagar and Kanakapura, where he will face the state Congress chief DK Shivakumar. V Somanna will face-off against Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Varuna. Mr Somanna will also contest from a second seat, Chamarajnagar. He has always contested from Govindaraja Nagar constituency in Bengaluru. This would be the first time he is contesting in two seats – both strongholds of the Congress.
The BJP’s election committee met in Delhi over the weekend to finalise the names. Karnataka has 224 assembly seats.
Mr Bommai will contest from Shiggaon constituency, his current seat. BY Vijayendra, the son of former Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, will contest from Shikaripura seat, the same constituency where his father had won seven times since 1983. State minister B Sriramulu will contest from Bellary Rural.
In Udupi, a key costal town, Yashpal Suvarna will contest for the first time in place of the current MLA Raghupathi Bhat. Mr Suvarna had aggressively campaigned for hijab ban. He is seen as a rising star among his local supporters. His claim to fame also includes activism in cow protection.
Other key BJP leaders Ramesh Jarkiholi and Govind M Karjol will contest from Gokak and Mudhol, respectively. BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi will contest from Chikkamagaluru.
BJP General Secretary Arun Singh said there are 52 new candidates this time, 32 are Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates and 30 are Scheduled Castes (SC). Nine candidates are doctors, five lawyers and two retired bureaucrats. There are eight women in the first list.
In Athani, the BJP has chosen a candidate, Mahesh Kumathahalli, against the request of party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi. Mr Savadi last week tried to convince the BJP that his chances of winning were higher and the BJP would lose the seat if the ticket was given to Mr Kumathahalli.
