BENGALURU: The BJP is fielding two veterans — Revenue Minister R Ashoka and Housing Minister V Somanna — from two seats each. They have been given the task to prove their mettle as leaders of their respective Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities. Ashoka may retain his Padmanabhanagar seat but the contest against Vokkaliga compatriot and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar could be tough in the latter’s stronghold of Kanakapura.
In Somanna’s case, both seats are new for him — in Varuna, he will take on CLP leader Siddaramaiah and in Chamarajanagara, he will challenge C Puttaranga Shetty of the Congress. The party hopes he will consolidate Lingayat voters and with a combination of Dalits and STs, win both seats. The high command, however, has not allotted a ticket to his son Dr Arun. Govindarajanagar, which Somanna represents, is likely to be given to BBMP ex-corporator Umesh Shetty. Gubbi, which Somanna sought for his son, is still vacant.
Interestingly, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa ensured that his son B Y Vijayendra is his successor in Shikaripura, and avoided him being declared the Varuna candidate. He suggested Somanna’s name for Varuna, and on Wednesday, the latter visited him.
According to sources, when the party high command got a hint that Somanna was trying to quit the BJP, National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh ensured that Amit Shah visited his house and even summoned him to Delhi.
BJP chief spokesperson MG Mahesh expressed confidence that Somanna can win Varuna which has over 75,000 Lingayats, besides Chamarajanagar. According to him, Padmanabhanagara will be a cakewalk for Ashoka, and in Kanakapura, Shivakumar’s “minority appeasement” will backfire.
Sogadu to quit BJP, will fight
Former minister Sogadu Shivanna is set to sever his relationship of four decades with the BJP, after he was denied the Tumakuru City ticket. He will resign from the party’s primary membership and file his nomination as an independent on April 17. “I thought the party will safeguard me but was proved wrong,” he told supporters. Shivanna (74), an RSS leader and four-time MLA, had sacrificed the ticket for incumbent MLA G B Jyothiganesh, son of MP G S Basavaraju, in 2018.