Parties are entering the crucial phase of finalising tickets in poll-bound Karnataka with Congress on Friday clearing 125 names for the upcoming Assembly election and the BJP due to start its process soon.
The JD(S), an early mover by becoming the first party to announce 93 candidates, has decided to wait for the Congress and BJP to announce their tickets before releasing its next list.
The ticket selection process is critical as parties depend on the winnability factor of a candidate coupled with caste considerations.
The Congress’ Central Election Committee, headed by the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, approved 125 candidates. These include 61 sitting Congress MLAs. In seven other segments currently held by its MLAs -- Harihar, Pavagada, Pulikeshinagar, Lingsugur, Afzalpur, Sidlaghatta and Kundgol -- the committee decided to hold further discussions before finalising candidates.
Anticipating protests by those denied tickets, the party is likely to announce its first list after former AICC president Rahul Gandhi’s rally at Belagavi on March 20.
It was decided to field Sharath Bachegowda from Hoskote and move Mulbagal MLA H Nagesh, an independent, to Mahadevapura. MLC U B Venkatesh will get the Basavanagudi ticket. Former BJP MLC Puttanna who joined Congress recently is tipped to get the Rajajinagar ticket. Other ticket aspirants include former Union minister K H Muniyappa and former MP B N Chandrappa.
After the meeting, Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar said most sitting MLAs would get the ticket. “The CEC deliberated on names recommended by the state screening committee. The CEC approved most names in constituencies where there was only one aspirant,” he said.
The BJP is under pressure to beat back anti-incumbency at the local-level, which could force the party to field fresh faces in some constituencies where it is in power. Apparently, the BJP might consider dropping 10-15 per cent of its sitting MLAs. According to sources in the BJP, the party will soon convene meetings of all its Shakti Kendras after March 25.
“The Shakti Kendra meetings will finalise modalities. Then, the constituency-level candidate selection process will begin. Constituency observers will meet local leaders, ticket aspirants and potential candidates to prepare a report with a panel of four to five names that will be sent to the district units,” a source said.
District-level committees will vet the panel of names and shortlist two to three candidates for the state election panel to discuss. After further vetting, names are sent to the BJP central parliamentary board.
“The entire process will take 15-20 days once the election dates are announced,” the source said. The H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) released its first list in December last year. It wanted to release its second list this month. But JD(S) has deferred the plan hoping for heartburn to break out, especially in Congress, so that it can poach leaders who were denied tickets. The JD(S) is looking to induct candidates for constituencies where it has no potential leaders of its own.
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