Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to announce candidates for 11 constituencies, prominent among them being Badami, Yeshwantpur, BTM Layout and Varuna.
The party has adopted a wait-and-watch policy in Badami. “We have a local candidate, Appanna Shetty. But if Siddaramaiah contests, we will field a heavyweight to take him on,” a senior leader said.
The ticket for Yeshwantpur is being held up as Shobha Karandlaje, MP, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, is a contestant, though she has denied being one, sources said. B.S. Yeddyurappa is reportedly pushing for her to get it. However, since she is a MP, the party high command will take a call over the issue, as giving her a ticket may open up a can of worms with other incumbent MPs also seeking ticket.
The ticket for Varuna, where Yeddyurappa’s son B.Y. Vijayendra is expected to contest, has also not been announced yet. The party is yet to announce its candidate in BTM Layout to take on Ramalinga Reddy.
G. Prasad Reddy, a realtor who was defeated by over 1,800 votes on a BJP ticket against Ramalinga Reddy in 2008, is said to be leading the race, among other aspirants.
Other constituencies where it is yet to announce candidates are: Ramanagaram, Kanakapura, Bhadravati, Belur, Hassan, Sakaleshpur and Sidlaghatta.
The BJP third list has some surprise element. There was a strong rumour about Tulasiram Nauru alias Lahari Velu getting the BJP ticket to contest in the Assembly elections from Chamarjpet. He has already started door-to-door campaign sèeking votes but the party has selected M Lakshminarayana to contest from this constituency.
The other interesting thing is the replacement for Padmanabha Reddy, Leader of Opposition in the BMP Council. Padmanabha Reddy is supposed to be BJP’s candidate from Sarvagna Nagar from where Bengaluru Development Minister K J George is contesting. Reddy had contested against George in the last Assembly elections from same constituency and got defeated. Two days ago, Reddy appealed the BJP leadership not select him for contesting from Sarvagna Nagar since he could not have resources on par with George.
The BJP has given ticket to M.N. Reddy, chairman of Ayodhya Rama Temple Complex who took the lead in getting the 62-ft Hanuman statue erected here, to contest the Assembly election from Sarvagna Nagar. He will take on Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George, who is seeking re-election.
The controversy over the statue had taken a political turn earlier this month when Mr. Reddy accused Mr. George of being anti-Hindu, claiming that he was attempting to prevent the statue from entering the temple. A case of rioting was registered against him after over a thousand people he was leading in a procession clashed with the police.
The BJP has selected Sapthagiri Gowda to contest from Gandhi Nagar in Bengaluru where Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Dinesh Gundu Rao is contesting.
