Yaduveer, Manjunath and Bommai get BJP ticket, as party replaces candidates in 10 seats
Scion of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, noted cardiologist C.N. Manjunath and the former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai are among those set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka on the BJP ticket, as the party has replaced candidates in 10 constituencies out of 20 for which the names were announced on Wednesday.
While nine are fresh contestants, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje has been shifted from UdupiChikkamagaluru to Bengaluru North constituency in place of incumbent MP and former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda. UdupiChikkamgaluru had seen resistance to renominating her with some of the party workers staging “Shobha go back” campaign. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary has been fielded from UdupiChikkamagaluru from where senior leader C.T. Ravi was keen to contest.
Dr. Manjunath, soninlaw of JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, will be locking horns with Congress leader and shrewd poll strategist D.K. Suresh, the brother of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, for Bengaluru Rural seat. The cardiologist, who met BJP veteran B.S. Yediyurappa on Wednesday, is set to join the saffron party formally on Thursday.
The prominent leaders, who have been dropped, include journalistturnedMP Pratap Simha, who has been replaced by Mr. Wadiyar for the Mysuru seat, and the former party State president Nalin Kumar Kateel, who has been replaced by Capt. Brijesh Chowta from Dakshina Kannada, besides Mr. Sadananda Gowda.