Bengaluru: In a bid to iron out differences over ticket allocation in four Lok Sabha constituencies, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held a meeting with disgruntled BJP leaders from Chitradurga, Davangere, Tumkur and Chikkaballapur constituencies and asked them to work unitedly to ensure a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in every seat the party is contesting.
Shah asked them to set aside differences with party nominees. “He also told leaders to perform in the elections to secure their own future in the party,” a source told DH.
A senior functionary who attended the meeting said Shah clarified that candidate selection was based on the ‘winnablity’ factor and not on anyone’s recommendations. “Let the disgruntled leaders not question Yediyurappa, Vijayendra or any other state leader over ticket allocation. It has been done with several factors in mind like caste and the likelihood of winning. From today onwards, everyone must fall in line,” Shah reportedly said.
Shah, along with Yediyurappa, Vijayendra and R Ashoka, chose to sit with district-level leaders rather than preside over them from a dais. “This shows how Shah engages with dissatisfied leaders to win them over besides hearing them out,” the source said.
Former minister JC Madhuswamy, who has differences over the party’s Tumkur nominee V Somanna, was the only leader who skipped the meeting.
After the meeting, leaders like MP Renukacharya vowed to work for PM Modi, if not for the party’s official nominees. “This is a national election. Modi should become the PM again. Apart from that, the candidate should also have some contribution. Still, we’ll work for the party and Modi,” Renukacharya, who was eyeing the Davangere ticket, said without naming BJP’s candidate Gayatri Siddeshwar, the wife of sitting MP GM Siddeshwar.
Party nominees from Chitradurga and Chikkaballapur — former ministers Govind Karjole and Dr K Sudhakar — exuded confidence that they would win the LS polls.
Highlights - Shah-speak Those who didn’t get tickets must set aside differences with party nominees Candidate selection not based on recommendations but ‘winnablity’ factor From today onwards, everyone must fall in line