Discontent brews within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka after the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections was released. Some leaders, feeling disgruntled with the candidate selection, are considering switching to the Congress party.
The list, released on March 13, featured names for 20 of the state's 28 parliamentary seats. Among the discontented is former Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa, who is upset that his son, K E Kantesh, was not included.
Eshwarappa, who wanted his son to contest from the Haveri Lok Sabha seat, has announced he will run against B S Yediyurappa's elder son, B Y Vijayendra, in Shivamogga, protesting against 'dynastic politics'.
"People and the workers are in favour of the BJP but the system here is bad. What is our Narendra Modi ji saying? The Congress party is in the hands of one family. Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi... the central Congress is being controlled by one family. Same situation is Karnataka. Karnataka's BJP is in control of one family. We have to protest this," the senior BJP leader told news agency PTI.
He also accused the party of sidelining those who support Hindutva, be it C T Ravi, Pratap Simha, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal or Sadananda Gowda. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, initially reluctant to contest, has expressed a desire to run and is considering joining the Congress.
In Koppal, two-time BJP MLA Karadi Sanganna is upset over being denied a ticket, and former Karnataka Minister J C Madhuswamy has expressed displeasure over the party fielding V Somanna from Tumakuru.
He even said that he asserted he would not work for Somanna. Madhuswamy, however, noted that "Congress is not a safe zone."
KARNATAKA BJP CANDIDATE LIST
The saffron party has not yet annouced its candidates in Belgaum, Raichur, Uttara Kannada, Hassan, Chitradurga, Mandya, Chikballapur, and Kolar Lok Sabha seats. Karnataka goes to polls in two phases, on April 26 and May 7.