BJP leader and MLC Ayanur Manjunath on Monday said he will resign as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, and contest the May 10 Assembly polls from the Shivamogga constituency.
He also challenged former Minister K S Eshwarappa to contest against him in the polls.
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However, he did not specify whether he would contest from any other political party or as an independent candidate. "There are no signs of the BJP honouring my request for a ticket, instead names of children of some leaders are said to have found mention in the list....I will certainly contest this time.....I will soon be resigning from my MLC post," Manjunath told reporters here.
He also challenged senior BJP leader and former Minister K S Eshwarappa or his son K E Kantesh to contest against him in the polls, as he hit out at the former for seeking a ticket for son, rather than for those who worked with him to build the party, and also for allegedly making certain comments against him.
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Eshwarappa currently represents Shivamogga Assembly constituency and is said to be making efforts to ensure that his son gets a BJP ticket from the seat this time, from where Manjunath too is aspiring to contest.
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Eshwarappa currently represents Shivamogga Assembly constituency and is said to be making efforts to ensure that his son gets a BJP ticket from the seat this time, from where Manjunath too is aspiring to contest.
If he resigns, Manjunath will become the third BJP MLC to resign, after Puttanna and Baburao Chinchansur, ahead of the Assembly polls. Both Puttanna and Chinchansur have joined the Congress.
While Puttanna has been fielded by Congress from the Rajaji Nagar constituency in Bengaluru, Chinchansur is likely to enter the fray from Gurmitkal in Kalaburagi district.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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Home/Cities/Bengaluru News/BJP leader Ayanur Manjunath to resign as MLC to contest Karnataka Assembly polls
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