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Journalism of Courage
Not only did the BJP’s first list of candidates announced on Tuesday focus on youthful faces but, going by the number of senior leaders who were either dropped or kept waiting for their names to appear in the party’s second candidates’ list, it signals a possible change of guard in the state BJP leadership.
Nine sitting MLAs have been asked to hang up their boots to make way for fresh faces, a decision that has left at least some of them noticeably unhappy. On this list are leaders such as former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, former Deputy CM K S Eshwarappa, and former minister S Angara. The decision to field senior ministers R Ashoka and V Somanna in two constituencies each is being seen as a message to these leaders to prove their mettle or be pushed down the party’s hierarchy.
Among the nine sitting legislators not picked are Raghupati Bhat from Udupi who turned emotional about the decision on Wednesday; Sanjeev Matandoor from Udupi; Haladi Srinivas Shetty from Kundapur who announced his retirement from active politics even before the list was discussed; Lalaji Mendon from Kapu, a constituency he has represented thrice; Goolihatti Shekar from Hosadurga; Ramanna Lamani from Shirahatti; Anil Benake from Belagavi Uttar; and Yadvad Shivalingappa from Ramdurg.
Tickets have also not been announced for Mahadevapura constituency in Bangalore Urban district that senior leader Arvind Limbavali has represented thrice; Krishnaraja in Mysuru city district that is currently represented by former medical education minister S A Ramdas; and Mudigere in Chikkamagaluru district where a section of party workers opposed the candidature of sitting MLA M P Kumaraswamy. It has raised alarm bells about the political future of these leaders.
In the first list, only 90 of the 118 sitting MLAs were fielded again. Even though there are candidates with a criminal history, senior leaders facing corruption allegations, such as Madal Virupakshappa and Nehru Olekar, are unlikely to be named in the second list.
Others who lost out included BJP parliamentary board member B S Yediyurappa, who chose not to contest and vacated his Shikaripura seat for his son B Y Vijayendra, and former minister Anand Singh whose seat Vijayanagar was given to his son Siddharth Singh.
