The Karnataka candidate list has not yet been finalized by the BJP. Internal strife or rigorous selection?
This time, the BJP appears determined to minimize candidate selection errors and give itself a chance to comfortably cross the halfway point.
Ankush Pandey
For the Karnataka assembly elections on May 10, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has adopted a complex and one-of-a-kind four-tier "selection before election" model for its candidates.
The BJP appears determined this time to minimize mistakes in the selection of candidates and give itself a chance of comfortably reaching the halfway mark. After crossing the 100-seat mark twice in 2008 and 2018, but failing to reach the "magic number" of 113 to form the government on its own and suffering the consequences, the party appears determined to reach the halfway mark.
In a secret ballot conducted under the supervision of 39 organizational committees (for 31 districts) comprised of party veterans, including ministers and former ministers, approximately 22,000 BJP functionaries spread out across the 224 Assembly segments have "voted" for either one or a maximum of three "best candidates." In actuality, the committee members traveled to the district headquarters to guarantee "free and fair" voting.
BALLOTING OF CANDIDATES
The "core committee members" from various districts met the state-level leaders last week on Saturday and Sunday to discuss each candidate after those ballot boxes reached the BJP's Bengaluru headquarters.
BJP sources said that each arrangement of center panel individuals was allowed thirty minutes or more to make a show on the supporters profile, strength of the party, rank blend, and qualities and shortcomings of the BJP up-and-comers opposite their rivals.
On April 3 and 4, the state chiefs, including boss pastor Basavaraj Bommai, previous boss clergyman BS Yediyurappa, state BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel, BJP's focal spectator Arun Singh and a few senior priests are supposed to have definite conversations on the competitors' rundown and send it with their suggestions to the Parliamentary Leading body of the party.
Furthermore, the BJP focal initiative has set up 50 'expert groups' comprising of a few Association priests, MPs and MLAs from various states like Pankaj Choudhury, Sanjeev Chourasia, Satish Dwivedi, Sudhakar Reddy, Ramesh Bidhuri, Nishikant Dubey and Sanjay Bhatia among others.
In order to provide the apex election strategy committee, which includes Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and national general secretary BL Santosh among others, with their "inputs," they will be traveling to various parts of Karnataka, as they did during the recent northeast elections and earlier to Goa and Uttarakhand.
According to reports, the specialists' team will concentrate on 115 Karnataka constituencies deemed "difficult but winnable" with additional effort from the party and candidates. Overall, Chief Minister Bommai has said that the BJP will likely release its first candidate list on or around April 8.
DEALING WITH INTERNAL STRIFE
However, the delay is also being interpreted as a strategy to deal with some party internal conflict. If Mahesh Kumathalli, his protégé, is not given the party ticket from Athani, Ramesh Jarkhiholi, who was instrumental in organizing defections from the Congress and assisting the BJP in returning to power, is threatening to rebel.
Mahesh was one of the Congress defectors who lost to BJP candidate Laxman Savadi by just 2,300 votes, and Savadi is working hard to stay in the race.
In Ballari, Janardhana Reddy, who split away from the BJP to frame his territorial party, is probably going to cut into BJP votes as both he and his better half, as well as a portion of his partners, are supposed to challenge. Veteran Kuraba leader KS Eshwarappa is threatening to rebel in Shivamogga if he or his son are not given the party ticket. He is unhappy about not being taken back into the Cabinet after being cleared of bribery charges.
PROBLEMS BEFORE CONGRESS
In the Congress camp, which has its most memorable rundown of 124 competitors effortlessly, the party authority is by all accounts attempting to settle the other 100 applicants. The screening committee, which included Siddarmaiah, DK Shivakumar, and other members and was led by senior Congressman Mohan Prakash late last week, met for more than 20 hours at a time, but it is believed that it could only tentatively select approximately 60 candidates. The screening committee is expected to list three or four candidates in the more "problematic" constituencies and leave the final decision up to the central election committee.
Bommai, on the other hand, has asserted that Shivakumar personally contacted a number of BJP leaders, including ministers, and offered them seats. Shivakumar retaliated by questioning how Bommai could have referred to them as leaders of the BJP when they had previously been members of the Congress and had been "hijacked" by the BJP to form a government of defectors, Shivakumar added.
The Janata Dal (Secular), which could be crucial in the event of a "hung" assembly, has also been unable to expand beyond its initial 95 candidates, which it finalized almost a month ago. The Deve Gowda family's sharp disagreements over Bhavani Revanna's desire to run for Hassan city constituency and HD Revanna's wife have led to an impasse, and Gowda is working hard to find a solution.
Kumaraswamy, Revanna, and Bhavani went to Deve Gowda's Padmanabhanagar residence on Sunday night to try to find a solution. According to reports, Kumaraswamy explained to his father why he preferred party worker HP Swaroop, who was running from Hassan city, over Bhavani because Swaroop would have to accompany "Dasa Vokkaligas," who were prevalent in the district.
Gowda asked Bhavani not to escalate the situation and supported Kumaraswamy's argument. It reportedly irritated Revanna and Bhavani, who abruptly and in a huff left the meeting.
DESERTIONS FROM JD(S)
Before finalizing its list, the JD(S) must also keep an eye out for party hopping around election time. Gubbi MLA SR Srinivas, Arakalgudu AT Ramaswamy, and Arasikere K R Shivalinge Gowda have all left the party within the past week. The other two are moving toward the Congress, while Ramaswamy has joined the BJP.
These types of desertions are common in the JD(S), which also keeps a few open seats until the very last minute to accommodate those from the BJP and the Congress who were denied tickets.
The BJP accepts it works with a cautiously arranged hardware for the choice of up-and-comers contrasted with the others, however who has the best result is not yet clear.
