As Jagadish Shettar Tries Hard For Ticket, BS Yediyurappa Says “99% Sure”

Bengaluru:

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has stepped in to defuse a potential crisis a day after an influential BJP MLA threatened to contest as an independent if he was not given a ticket for the state election to be held next month.

BJP MLA and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar yesterday indicated he is set for a rebellion after the party asked him to make way for others and asked him not to contest. He has come to Delhi and is scheduled to meet BJP chief JP Nadda today to discuss the matter.

Mr Yediyurappa, in an apparent effort to calm down his colleague, said he is very likely to get a ticket.

“99 per cent Jagadish Shettar will be given an election ticket,” Mr Yediyurappa told news agency ANI today.

Mr Shettar, the MLA from Hubballi, has won six elections in the past. He won by over 21,000 votes in the last assembly election in 2018, defeating his Congress rival Mahesh Nalwad.

Mr Shettar’s constituency is not mentioned in the BJP’s first list of candidates for 189 seats, which was announced last night. A second will be announced soon, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said yesterday. The Karnataka assembly has 224 seats.

Mr Shettar, citing “no blot” in his political career, said he has asked the party leadership to let him contest this time also.

“I have pledged my loyalty to the BJP. Even the (party’s) recent survey (on election) proved that I have an edge. But I am disappointed after getting the call from the party leadership,” Mr Shettar told reporters yesterday.

An unhappy Mr Shettar could pose a problem for the BJP in Hubballi and the North Karnataka region, where he is an influential figure.

The former Chief Minister has been associated with many reforms including the Kalasa Banduri drinking water project, construction of the assembly building in Belagavi and bringing the South Western Railways headquarters to the Hubballi-Dharwad region.

He comes from the powerful Lingayat community, whose support every party seeks.

Karnataka will vote on May 10; votes will be counted three days later.