Give us tickets or we'll quit, some aspirants tell JD(S)

More than 1,100 aspirants, including those who are not hopeful of getting tickets from the BJP or the Congress, have knocked on the doors of the JD(S) so far.

Party leaders H D Deve Gowda, H D Kumaraswamy, Zameer Ahmed Khan and others - who held hectic parleys with the aspirants all day long on Tuesday - have decided to finalise the list of candidates for all 198 wards by Wednesday evening.

The day was charged with emotions, with ticket aspirants from wards like Rajagopalnagar, Laggere and Hemmigepura literally threatening the party leaders to consider their names or they would quit the party.

So far, the party has finalised a list of 120 candidates. The remaining 78 candidates will be decided by Wednesday. Names of all 198 candidates will be announced during the massive public meet to be organised at the National College grounds on Thursday. ‘B’ forms too will be distributed the same day. Till then, the entire list will be kept confidential.
The party is facing the heat from aspirants in Dasarahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Mahalakshmi Layout, where there are more than three aspirants per ward.

The party leaders have decided not to entertain those aspirants who have applied for tickets with the Congress and the BJP. Loyal party workers who have worked for the victory of candidates during the Assembly elections will be given priority.

Victorious candidates
Also, candidates who have emerged victorious during the previous BBMP polls will be considered. In wards where there is reservation for women, wives or female relatives of the former corporators will be given primacy. Those with criminal backgrounds will not be considered, the party sources said.