The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its second roster of contenders for the imminent Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka on Sunday, March 24. Among them, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has been nominated by the party to contest from Belgaum. Currently, the seat is held by Mangala Suresh Angadi, who is related to Shettar. Earlier in January it was disclosed that negotiations between Shettar and the BJP team had resulted in an offer for him to run for a Lok Sabha seat from Belgaum.
The party has decided not to field former Union Minister and MP for Uttara Kannada, Anantkumar Hegde, due to his history of making controversial remarks that have caused embarrassment to the party. Instead, they have selected former Assembly Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri as the nominee to contest from the Uttara Kannada constituency.
Former health minister Sudhakar, who was unsuccessful in the Assembly elections, will be the new candidate for the Chikkaballapura constituency, replacing the current MP BN Bache Gowda. Gowda, who had distanced himself from the BJP, recently resigned from the party.
Raja Amareshwar Naik has been selected as the candidate for the Raichur constituency. With this announcement, the total number of BJP candidates in Karnataka reaches 24, leaving only the Chitradurga constituency. It is reported that former minister Govind Karjol and Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayana Swamy are being considered for this seat. However, opposition from local BJP workers to these candidates has caused a delay in the final decision-making process. Meanwhile, the BJP’s ally Janata Dal (Secular) will contest in three constituencies.
