BJP may field ex-CMs in LS polls

Bengaluru: BJP that has plans to win big time in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, may field two of its former Chief Ministers -- Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, who come from the dominant Lingayat community, counted by the party as its core vote-base.

Giving indications about this, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said discussions have taken place regarding candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state including Bommai and Shettar, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party’s national president J P Nadda, but no final decision has been taken.

The former Chief Minister, who is a member of BJP’s Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee, also hinted that BJP may allot two-three seats to its alliance partner JD(S) in Karnataka, on which party’s national leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be taking a final decision.

BJP leaders from various States are meeting Shah and Nadda, ahead of the party’s Central Election Committee, which includes Modi and other senior leaders, holding its second meeting later this week for finalising the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. It has so far announced candidates for 195 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543 across the country.

“Yesterday Amit Shah ji, Nadda ji and all of us together discussed candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats. Who should be given the ticket has not yet been finalised. All of that will be discussed with the Prime Minister, and we might get clarity in two-three days,” Yediyurappa told reporters in the national capital.

Regarding the seats that will be given to JD(S), he said the decision that will be taken by Modi and Shah is final.

“It is not yet finalised as to which seats will be given to them. Two to three seats may be given to them,” he added.

BJP and JD(S) have had discussions on seat sharing. However, there is no official announcement yet. As per information available so far, JD(S) may contest in three seats -- Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.

There may also be possibility of a candidate from the JD(S) contesting on the BJP symbol, according to sources, and it is likely to be noted cardiac surgeon and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s son-in-law Dr C N Manjunath from Bangalore Rural segment, where sitting MP and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s brother D K Suresh is likely to be the Congress candidate once again.

There is also pressure from party workers on Gowda’s son -- former CM and JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy -- to contest from the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S) sources added.

The BJP wants to repeat or surpass its 2019 Lok Sabha polls performance, when it had swept the state, by winning 25 out of total 28 seats, and had ensured the win of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya.

It is also a role reversal of sorts for JD(S) which joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year and wants to prove that it’s still a force to reckon with, particularly in South Karnataka.