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BJP goes for mix of old, new in list of 189 for K’taka
The BJP has declared 189 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections, dropping at least four sitting lawmakers in an attempt to curb anti-incumbency. The party hopes to retain power in the southern state, but is facing allegations of corruption and anti-incumbency. The Congress has already announced candidates for 166 seats. The BJP's decision to drop prominent names has sparked speculation of infighting.
/Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared 189 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections on Tuesday, capping a day of high drama where one senior leader announced his retirement from electoral politics and another indicated he may rebel against the party’s diktat to step away.
In a press conference in Delhi, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP general secretary Arun Singh announced the party’s first list of candidates and dropped four sitting lawmakers, including former chief minister Jagdish Shettar, who went public with his disenchantment at how he was treated.
In all, at least four of the BJP’s 119 sitting lawmakers were dropped, in a move seen as an attempt to curb anti-incumbency. All of the legislators denied tickets hailed from coastal Karnataka, a region the BJP swept in 2018.
“We have focussed on young people and named 52 fresh faces in the list. Other than that, we have 32 backward leaders, 30 scheduled castes, and 16 scheduled tribes. In addition, we have 31 post graduates, nine doctors, eight women, three academics,” said Singh.
The party fielded chief minister Basavaraj Bommai from his old constituency of Shiggaon in Haveri district, his detractor Basanagouda Patil Yatnal from Bijapur, controversial lawmaker Ramesh Jarkhiholi from Gokak, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra from his traditional seat of Shikaripura, and general secretary CT Ravi from Chikmagalur.
“The consultation process was spread over all 31 districts, and included 25,000 party workers. District level leadership was consulted by former CM Yediyurappa, CM Bommai and state unit chief Kateel,” said Pradhan, the party’s state in-charge.
The BJP is hoping to retain power in the only southern state it controls and beat back challenges from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) in the May 10 polls. But its government is battling allegations of corruption and anti-incumbency. Its principal challenger, the Congress, has already announced candidates for 166 seats.
The BJP fielded state revenue minister R Ashoka to take on state Congress unit chief DK Shivakumar from the Kanakapura constituency. Ashoka will also contest from Padmanabhanagar. State minister V Somanna will take on former chief minister Siddaramaiah from Varuna, and also fight the elections from Chamrajanagar. The BJP named Varthur Prakash as the candidate from Kolar, from where Siddaramaiah may also contest.
But its decision to drop prominent names sparked speculation of infighting. “If they had told me two to three months ago, then it would have been respectable for me. When the nomination is just two days away (to begin), I am definitely hurt,” Shettar, a former leader of opposition and six-time lawmaker, said. “I have told them that I will contest the election. Whatever you have said is not acceptable to me.”
Shettar’s response underlined the complexity of the exercise, with Yediyurappa, Bommai, the party’s central leadership (PM Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, and party chief JP Nadda), and a bunch of other leaders including some Union ministers all having their own ideas on candidature.
Pradhan highlighted that names recommended by the Karnataka state election committee were vetted by “important leaders” including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, BL Santhosh and other leaders. He also held out an olive branch to Shettar. “Shettar ji is a senior leader, he will stay with us and we will be able to make him understand… I have spoken to him today,” he added.
In the BJP’s first list, among those denied tickets were Raghupati Bhatt from Udupi, where the row over Muslim students wearing the hijab first started in January 2022. A local BJP leader who lead the anti-hijab movement, Yashpal Suvarna, is the party nominee from the seat. Other lawmakers denied tickets were Lalaji Mendon from Kaup, S Angara from Sullia and Sanjeev Matandoor from Puttur. Angara is an incumbent minister.
Retired state bureaucrat LC Nagaraj, who is an accused in the IMA scam, was nominated to contest from the Madhugiri constituency. The scam pertains to ₹4,000 crore collected by IMA Group from over 100,000 investors in the pretext of providing sizeable returns on investments. In 2015, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a money laundering case and attached assets worth ₹209 crore.
Former Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskara Rao, who recently joined the BJP from the Aam Aadmi Party, was nominated from Chamrajpet in Bengaluru city.
The day began with former deputy chief minister KS Eshwarappa announcing that he was stepping away from electoral politics, sparking protests by his supporters in Shivamogga.
The move, people aware of the details said, was in line with the party’s strategy of pushing for a generational shift.
Eshwarappa resigned last year after a government contractor died by suicide after levelling allegations of corruption against the senior leader. “I am withdrawing from electoral politics... The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the last 40 years. I went from a booth in-charge to state party chief. I also had the honour of becoming Deputy Chief Minister,” he wrote to BJP president JP Nadda.
HT learns that he wrote the letter after being prodded to do so. As the news spread, hundreds of his supporters gathered before his residence in Shivamogga to protest his decision. They shouted slogans and burnt tyres to express their anger.
In the press conference, Singh said the party balanced the old with the new and highlighted its commitment to caste-marginalised groups, especially backward communities. The BJP recently announced a rejig of the existing reservation matrix in Karnataka, hiking the quota for the influential Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities, and pushing through internal quotas within the scheduled caste basket.
Pradhan said the names were finalised after a democratic process of consultation and suggestions from the district level. He said the consultation process that was spread over 31 districts, and included 25,000 party workers, concluded on March 31. “On April 1-2, district-level leadership was consulted by former CM Yediyurappa, CM BS Bommai and state unit president Nalin Kateel. On April 4-5, the state election committee met in Bengaluru and made a panel that considered recommendations from the distinct and state levels, and undertook an analysis,” he added.
Referring to Karnataka as a “citadel of knowledge and economy”, Pradhan said a new generation of leadership should emerge. He said the BJP already “successfully conducted some mass contact programmes and PM Modi will himself campaign and visit various parts of the state”.
But some senior leaders are upset at not having their suggestions accepted, said a party functionary requesting anonymity.
To be sure, senior BJP leaders stepping away from electoral politics on the eve of elections is not unprecedented. In Gujarat, which went to polls in December, former chief minister Vijay Rupani, former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel and senior party leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama announced their decision of not contesting the assembly election ahead of the polls. But unlike in Karnataka, there were no protests at that time.
