Date:11/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/11/stories/2008041162000500.htm

New Delhi

BJP announces 136 candidates

Delhi Bureau

Seat-sharing talks on with JD(U)

Nine members of previous Assembly dropped
Only three women candidates named in first list

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Central Election Committee cleared 136 names of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly polls here on Thursday. Forty-four names have been cleared for the first phase of polls on May 10 and the remaining 92 for the second and third phases of polling. Only three women candidates feature in the first list.

‘Not being renominated’

Party general secretary and member of the Central Election Committee H.N. Ananth Kumar told reporters that nine members of the previous Assembly “are not being renominated”.

The BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, B.S. Yeddyurappa, will contest the Shikaripur segment and a former State party president, K.S. Eshwarappa, will contest from Shimoga. Another former president, Jagadish Shettar, will contest from Hubli-Dharwad Central. Among the former Ministers who shared power in the Kumaraswamy government who have been given the green signal are Katta Subramanya Naidu (Hebbal segment) and R. Ashok (Padmanabhanagar).

Sriramulu gets nod

The party has given ticket to 18 Scheduled Caste candidates, nine Scheduled Tribe candidates and 24 belonging to Other Backward Classes. B. Sriramulu, who created a political controversy by filing an attempt to murder complaint against then Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, has been rewarded with a renomination. Mr. Ananth Kumar said several important leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular), who had recently joined the BJP, had been accommodated. These include three former Ministers, G.T. Deve Gowda (Hunsur) Bachchegowda (Hoskote) and K Thippeswamy (Challakere).

Basavaraj Bommai, son of founder president of the Janata Dal and former Chief Minister, S.R. Bommai, has been given the ticket for Shiggaon. B.G. Jawali, son-in-law of a former Congress Chief Minister, Veerendra Patil, has been given the BJP ticket for Aland constituency, and M. Mahadev, a former Congress Minister, has been asked to contest the Chamarajanagar seat. A former Deputy Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation and former Police Commissioner of Bangalore, L. Revannasiddaiah, has been given the ticket for Varuna constituency.

Seat-sharing talks

Talks on seat-sharing are continuing with the Janata Dal (United), but it is certain that the BJP and the JD(U) will contest the elections together. Mr. Ananth Kumar said a final agreement would be completed within the next few days. The next meeting of the BJP’s CEC will possibly take place on April 13.