BENGALURU: The BJP Karnataka Election Management Committee on Sunday shortlisted the party’s candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, giving place to over a dozen new faces apart from incumbent MPs who fit the bill.
According to sources, the name of Dr C N Manjunath, former director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research and son-in-law of former PM HD Deve Gowda, has been proposed for Bengaluru Rural LS seat to defeat sitting Congress MP D K Suresh, younger brother of DCM D K Shivakumar.
The meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of party state president B Y Vijayendra, discussed the candidates for the 28 seats of the state. The new names for Bengaluru North and Chamarajanagar, as sitting MPs D V Sadananda Gowda and V Srinivas Prasad announcing their retirement, have been proposed.
The meeting arrived at a decision to nominate certain sitting MPs, including Union ministers Pralhad Joshi from Hubballi-Dharwad and Shobha Karandlaje from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru. For Tumakuru, former minister V Somanna and former CM Jagadish Shettar for Belagavi, apart from a new face, have been shortlisted, according to sources. The name of former RDPR minister K S Eshwarappa’s son K E Kanthesh and that of Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath’s son Alok Vishwanath also came up for discussion.
The list will be sent to the party’s high command and it is likely to be announced in a week. “In the wake of the Lok Sabha elections, we had a meeting of the Election Management Committee. We had sent two observers to all the Lok Sabha constituencies of the state for two or three days. We put forth the names that came from the observers and it was decided to send the list to the party high command,” said Vijayendra.
BJP election in-charge for Karnataka Radhamohan Das Agarwal, parliamentary board member and former CM Yediurappa, former CMs Basavaraj Bommai and D V Sadananda Gowda, former ministers K S Eshwarappa, B Sriramulu, Govind Karjol, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and leaders Dr C N Aswath Narayan and C T Ravi were also present.
Somanna reconciles with BSY
Former minister V Somanna, an aspirant from Tumakuru, met former CM B S Yediyurappa at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru on Saturday evening. He along with former CM Jagadish Shettar, and Tumakuru MP G S Basavaraju held discussion over LS polls. Somanna was sulking after Vijayendra was made BJP state chief.