English
Arabic
Dutch
Italian
This has been the Lingayat strongman’s biggest ask and will likely boost BJP’s chances with the politically strong community, which has got 52 tickets in the first list itself.
CM Basavaraj Bommai will contest as expected from his traditional Shiggaon constituency in Haveri district.
To make campaigning tough for Congress, BJP has fielded two senior ministers, R Ashoka and V Somanna, against two rival stalwarts: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief DK Shivakumar, in Kanakapura constituency of Ramanagara district, and former CM and opposition leader Siddaramaiah in Varuna of Mysuru district, respectively.
Ashoka and Somanna will contest from Padmanabhanagar (Bengaluru) and Chamarajnagar seats as well. That’s seen as a ploy to tie the Congress heavies to their constituencies and limit their campaigning elsewhere.
A surprise is the candidate for Udupi, the city at the epicentre of last year’s hijab controversy. BJP has fielded debutant Yashpal Suvarna in place of sitting MLA Raghupathi Bhat, a three-time legislator.
As the chairperson of the college development committee (CDC) of the Govt PU College for Girls in Udupi, Bhat had asked students not to wear hijab inside the classroom, which sparked a controversy as several girls moved the high court and the issue made national and international headlines. The matter is pending in the Supreme Court.
Suvarna was seen as a rising star among his supporters and earned fame for his activism in cow protection.
Announcing the first list, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is BJP’s Karnataka poll in-charge, and Arun Singh, the party’s Karnataka in-charge, said 52 of the 189 candidates announced Tuesday are new faces, while eight are women. Thirty-two candidates are OBCs, 30 belong to scheduled castes (SC) and 16 are from the scheduled tribes (ST). Vokkaligas have got 34 seats in the first list.
Among the other key candidates, Ramesh Jarkiholi, who had resigned as a minister about two years ago over a sex scandal, and the party’s Dalit face, Govind M Karjol, will contest from Gokak and Mudhol, respectively.
Congress has already declared the names of 166 candidates on two lists for polls to the 224-member assembly, while JD(S) has so far released a list of 93.
While BJP national general secretary CT Ravi will contest from Chikkamagaluru, the minister and the party’s scheduled tribe candidate B Sriramulu will contest from Bellary Rural. In the 2018 assembly polls, Sriramulu had contested from two seats: Molkalmuru in Chitradurga and Badami in Bagalkot district. While he won from Molkalmuru, he lost against Siddaramaiah in Badami.
In Athani (Belagavi), BJP has chosen Mahesh Kumathahalli, denying a ticket to former deputy CM Laxman Savadi, who got emotional at a public event and is likely to either quit the party and join Congress or contest as an independent, sources said.
Former CM Jagadish Shettar, who too was denied a ticket, said he might contest as an independent.
The list contains nine doctors, five advocates, three academicians, one retired IAS officer, one retired IPS officer, three retired government employees and eight social activists, Pradhan said. “The candidates have been selected to bring in a new generation of leadership and fresh ideas,” he said.
The BJP Central Election Committeehad meetings since Sunday with senior party functionaries, including those from Karnataka, to finalise the list by incorporating suggestions from various quarters. The meetings were attended among others by PM Narendra Modi.
Pradhan said the party had done an elaborate exercise in gathering feedback before deciding on the candidates and expressed confidence that BJP will again form the government in Karnataka.
Watch Karnataka assembly polls: BJP announces first list of 189 candidates
