The Bharatiya Janata Party has “verified in detail” the criminal charges against candidates before deciding to issue tickets to them for the Assembly election, according to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.
Speaking on the sidelines of the BJP Foundation Day celebrations here on Saturday, Shettar said winnability has also been taken into consideration while finalising candidates.
Party State president Pralhad Joshi too said senior leaders have discussed criminal charges on a case-by-case basis before taking a decision to field a candidate. He said political equations in a constituency have been taken note of while deciding on a contestant.
Meanwhile, supporters of M Srinivas, a sitting legislator from Rajarajeshwarinagar Assembly constituency gheraoed Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka at the party head office in Malleswaram demanding ticket for Srinivas. However, the situation eased after Ashoka promised them that the name of Srinivas would figure in the second list.
Hemachandra Sagar, the sitting MLA from Chikpet constituency is said to have been denied BJP ticket this time. He is a close associate of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa. Sources said a final decision would be taken after consulting Sagar.
Convention on April 8
More than a lakh BJP cadres from across the State are expected to take part in the “Vijaya Sankalpa Samavesh” scheduled for April 8 at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. Joshi said senior leaders including national president Rajnath Singh, leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, leader of the Opposition Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka Dharmendra Pradhan, Bangalore South MP and party general secretary Ananth Kumar will participate in the mega convention.
