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Also, neither Chief Minister Yeddyurappa nor the Bellary Reddys could have upper hand while finalising the list of candidates, it is said.
At least 11 candidates including, Vinod Prabhu (Uttara Kannada), R K Siddaramanna (Shimoga), Kota Srinivasa Poojary (Dakshina Kannada- seeking re-election), S G Medappa (Kodagu), Chandrashekar Kavatagi (Bijapur), Shivaraj Sajjanar (Dharwad - seeking re-election)- have grown up in the organisation, a party functionary said. Partymen have also been given preference over ‘outsiders’.
Only three outsiders - Basavaraj Patil Humnabad (Bidar), C Ramesh (Mysore) and Thippareddy (Chitradurga) have been given tickets by the party.
The Chief Minister, it is said, insisted that the party should field K R Mallikarjunappa from Mysore, while the Bellary Reddys managed to get tickets for their associates in Bellary and Raichur. That was all the Chief Minister and his opponent camp could get, it is said.
This also implies that the BJP seems to have finally overcome dependence on the Bellary Reddy brothers during elections. It is no secret that the party had depended on the Reddys during the Assembly elections of 2008 and a year later, during the Lok Sabha elections.
They also played a major role in Operation Lotus. The BJP this time took a conscious
decision to select a majority of candidates to the Council polls from the organisation, it is said.