On BS Yeddyurappa’s word, BJP set to field Shobha, Hegde

BENGALURU: All 15 sitting BJP MPs from Karnataka (excluding HN Ananth Kumar) will reportedly be nominated for the Lok Sabha elections, despite opposition from within the party and anti-incumbency against some of them.

The list will also have two fresh faces — Ananth Kumar’s wife Tejaswini from Bengaluru South and former Channapatna MLA CP Yogeshwar’s daughter Nisha from Bengaluru Rural — BJP sources said.The party is also looking to field its own candidate in Mandya constituency, despite previous hints from the state leadership of its intent to back independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh.
Following a meeting in New Delhi that spilled into the wee hours on Wednesday, the party’s state unit, led by its president BS Yeddyurappa and others including KS Eshwarappa, Arvind Limbavali, CT Ravi and Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda, finalised the list, pending approval of the BJP central election committee. While it was expected that the central leadership may change at least six of the 15 sitting MPs, Yeddyurappa is said to have convinced BJP national president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend tickets to all sitting MPs, including his confidante Shobha Karandlaje from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat.
According to leaders present at the meeting, the three big names that were discussed in detail were that of Karandlaje, Belagavi MP Suresh Angadi and Union minister Anantkumar Hegde from Uttara Kannada.
“There were detailed discussions with regard to almost all 28 constituencies, with Shah in fact having secured independent survey reports on all sitting MPs,” one leader said. “He pointed out lapses in their performances. However, almost all the names proposed by the state unit have been accepted.”
Sources say Chikkamagaluru MLA CT Ravi raised stiff opposition against the candidature of Karandlaje on account of her inaccessibility to constituents and party workers. However, Yeddyurappa prevailed in the matter and is said to have assured Shah and Modi that Karandlaje’s victory will be his responsibility.
In the case of Angadi, the BJP state unit overruled an anti-incumbency report and decided to moot his name again. For Bengaluru Rural, the party has recommended Nisha, a Sandalwood actor. It is said the BJP leadership has agreed to field Nisha based on the backing of her father.
In Mandya, the party has decided to field its own candidate, making it a three-way fight with chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil as the candidate of the Congress-JD(S) alliance, Sumalatha Ambareesh (wife of late Congressman and Sandalwood star MH Ambareesh) and the BJP aspirant in former MLC Ashwath Narayana or Srinivas (a techie).
While Yeddyurappa had earlier hinted that the BJP may consider abstaining from contesting in Mandya, thereby giving its support to Sumalatha, the central leadership and state unit decided to overrule his suggestion to avoid erasing its entire party base in the district.