All the three parties are screening their candidates to find a ‘winner’ in each seat keeping a close watch on the candidate lists of the rival parties. Congress and JDS have released their first lists, while the ruling BJP is yet to make any announcement.
The JDS was the first to announce its list of candidates for 93 seats, followed by the Congress which released its list of 124 candidates for the elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
Beware BJP
The BJP has been careful in its selection process to ensure that disgruntled candidates do not go over to the opposition’s side or that leaders who have not been given tickets become the cause of rebellion. Three BJP MLCs- Ayanur Manjunath, Baburao Chinchansur and Puttanna resigned from the Upper House and joined the Congress.
Reports of unrest within the party, especially in the Belagavi region, have been another major cause of concern for the party. Ramesh Jarkiholi, the man who is said to have orchestrated the mass defection of 18 Congress and JDS MLAs to the BJP – leading to the collapse of the Congress-JDS alliance in 2019 – along with two of his close aides Mahesh Kumatahalli and Shrimant Patil are demanding tickets for. The BJP is not keen on giving it to them, especially Athani, where they are fielding former deputy CM and MLC Laxman Savadi, whom Kumatahalli (when in Congress) had defeated in 2018.
The BJP has come up with a special format that is similar to the US election model of primaries and hopes that it will help reduce hassles in the selection process.
Through this format, more than 25,000 BJP office bearers have cast their vote in favor of one or maximum three top candidates of their choice.
BJP party insiders say that the vetting and selection has been extremely detailed and thorough as the high command does not want any flare-up that could vitiate or spoil the party’s electoral chances. The BJP also claims that the ticket selection has been done in a democratic manner and the delay is deliberate as it will give enough time to the selection committee to choose the best candidate.
“There are some big ticket leaders from other parties who will soon join the party and will also enhance our chances as they are strong leaders in their respective constituencies,” he said. The party also wants to ensure that there is no defection.
This is not the first time that the primary format has been experimented with as the Congress did in the 2014 parliamentary elections.
State BJP vice-president Nirmal Kumar Surana said that the party had asked BJP functionaries in each of the 224 assembly seats to put three names of their choice in the secret ballot box. Officials were also told to keep in mind that their suggestion of candidates should also take into account winnability as a factor.
The poll, which was conducted last week, traveled to 39 organizational committees across 31 districts of Karnataka to ensure the process goes ahead smoothly. Over the weekend, district core committees selected the names of candidates based on ballots. After detailed discussions between BJP central observer Arun Singh, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, parliamentary board member BS Yeddyurappa and Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel, a detailed list of candidates is being finally filtered, which will be sent for scrutiny. will be sent. BJP Parliamentary Board with its recommendations.
“This process was to ensure that everyone has a say in the selection process and also gives us an idea of how the sitting MLAs have performed at the grassroots level. We have also got the names of young, energetic and fresh faces who are working hard and can prove to be the winning cards for the party. This time the party is considering fielding some new faces as well.
Bommai said the BJP’s first list for the May 10 assembly elections would be finalized by April 8.
Congress puzzle
The position of the Congress is no different from that of the BJP.
After declaring its first list of 124 candidates quite comfortably, the party’s CEC is struggling to finalize the last 100 seats as pressure from the Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar camps builds on the central leadership. The screening committee of the Congress, headed by senior party leader Mohan Prakash, considered hundreds of names to prepare a list with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar among others.
Congress sources told News18 that the list of 50 candidates has been finalized in the CEC meeting held on Tuesday.
In constituencies where the Congress feels its chances are 50-50, two or more names of potential candidates are suggested so that the Central Election Committee (CEC) takes a final call.
“At the end of the day’s meeting in Delhi, there were names of two candidates for the remaining 50 seats and hence the CEC has asked the senior leader to come up with a final list with just one name. It will be decided in the next 24-48 hours,” a senior Karnataka Congress leader told News18.
Like BJP, Congress is also facing opposition from supporters of leaders who joined the party from BJP and JDS. Local leaders in Shivamogga asked party workers to take an oath not to work in favor of candidates who defected to the party in the hope of getting tickets.
Another example that highlights the difference between the Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar camp is the Pulakeshinagar assembly constituency in Bengaluru north. Sitting MLA Akhand Srinivasa Murthy is a Siddaramaiah loyalist, but former Bengaluru mayor Sampath Raj is Shivakumar’s choice for the seat. Murthy has threatened to resign from the party and contest as an independent if not given the ticket.
Party sources say that the Congress is also eagerly waiting to see the list of BJP candidates to take a final call.
JDS’s dilemma
JDS is a troubled house in this election season. The party leadership, which was the first to announce the list of 93 candidates, is at a crossroads over Hasan’s ‘hot seat’.
HD Revanna’s wife and HD Kumaraswamy’s sister-in-law Bhavani Revanna is seeking ticket from this seat. However, Kumaraswamy is adamant on not giving it as he has finalized another candidate HS Swarup. Political analysts say that the JDS may announce a total of three lists as the party tries to resolve the family-cum-family feud, giving time to other candidates to campaign.
The JDS suffered a major setback as it ousted three MLAs – Shivalinga Gowda, SR Srinivas and AT Ramaswamy. Srinivasa and Gowda joined the Congress and Ramaswamy switched to the BJP.
With hopes of becoming the kingmaker again, the JDS also wants to ensure that it keeps its flock together in the event of a hung mandate and keeps its eye on the prize – the chief minister’s seat.
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