Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai says BJP will take a week to announce list of candidates
Posted on – Sat 01 Apr 23 02:43pm
Bangalore: With about a month to go before the May 10 parliamentary vote, all political parties have accelerated the process of completing ballots in Karnataka.
The state’s ruling BJP screening committee will meet at a private resort here on Saturday to finalize the first list of candidates.
The party has collected opinions on the candidates from local leaders and officials in each parliamentary constituency. Leaders will hold two days of discussions with caucus committee members from all regions, starting Saturday.
Insiders explained that three senior party workers in each region will finalize the list of candidates and send them to the Central Committee after considering all opinions.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said it would take a week for the party to announce the list of candidates.
The opposition Congress, which has announced its first list of 124 candidates, has finalized a second list of 70 candidates, according to sources.
The party held a series of meetings in this regard and discussed the election of Siddaramaiah from Coral constituency. Varuna constituency has declared his candidacy.
For the remaining 100 seats, congressional sources explained that a name has been finalized for 60 constituencies. For the 30-plus seats, two candidates are already settled, while for five constituencies the party still needs to decide among as many candidates as possible.
The onus of quelling dissent has been given to the State party’s president, DK Shivakumar. The list has been sent to the high command and the final decision will be made in New Delhi, the source said.
Meanwhile, the JD(S) has announced 93 candidates for December 2022 and is expected to announce a second list next week. The party is likely to call for Hassan’s parliamentary seat, which has led to conflict within the family of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.
