BJP may field former Karnataka CMs Jagadish Shettar & Basavaraj Bommai in Lok Sabha polls

Bengaluru: The BJP, which aims to secure significant victories in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, may nominate two of its former Chief Ministers -- Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, both hailing from the dominant Lingayat community, considered the party's core vote-base. Providing indications about this, veteran party leader B S Yediyurappa said discussions have taken place regarding candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, including Bommai and Shettar, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the party's national president J P Nadda, but no final decision has been made.

Yediyurappa, a former Chief Minister and a member of the BJP's Parliamentary Board and Central Election Committee, also hinted that the BJP may allocate two to three seats to its alliance partner JD(S) in Karnataka, with the final decision to be made by the party's national leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP leaders from various states are meeting Shah and Nadda ahead of the party's Central Election Committee, which includes Modi and other senior leaders, holding its second meeting later this week to finalize the party's candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. The party has so far announced candidates for 195 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 543 across the country.

"Yesterday, Amit Shah ji, Nadda ji, and all of us together discussed candidates for all 28 Lok Sabha seats. Who should be given the ticket has not yet been finalized. All of that will be discussed with the Prime Minister, and we might get clarity in two to three days," Yediyurappa told reporters in the national capital. He added, "Everything has been discussed, but who will be given a ticket from where has not yet been finalized. Discussions have happened about Bommai and Jagadish Shettar."

Speculations are rife within the state BJP circles that Bommai, currently an MLA from Shiggaon, may be fielded from Haveri, with the party's sitting MP Shivakumar Udasi announcing retirement from electoral politics after the current term ends. Shettar may be fielded from Belgaum (Belagavi), currently represented by Mangala Angadi, the widow of former Union Minister of State Suresh Angadi. She won by a margin of over 5,000 votes in the 2021 bypolls against the Congress strongman Satish Jarkiholi when the seat fell vacant due to her husband's death.

BJP aims to replace Mangala with a strong candidate to retain the seat, and Shettar’s name is doing the rounds as he also happens to be a relative of the Angadi family and was the poll incharge of this seat during the bypoll. Shettar, who quit the BJP to join the Congress ahead of the state assembly polls last year after being denied the ticket, rejoined his old party in January. Both Bommai and Shettar are from the Lingayat community, which is considered the strong vote-base of the BJP in Karnataka. According to party sources, the community's "slight shift" away from the saffron party in the Assembly polls last year is said to be one of the major reasons for its defeat. Yediyurappa is also a Lingayat.

According to Yediyurappa, there will be another round of discussions with the BJP's central leadership on Thursday at which some decisions may be taken. He also expressed confidence about winning at least 25 seats, and noted that efforts are underway in this direction. Regarding the seats that will be given to JD(S), he said the decision made by Modi and Shah is final. "It is not yet finalized as to which seats will be given to them. Two to three seats may be given to them," he added.

BJP and JD(S) have held discussions on seat sharing, but there is no official announcement yet. As per available information, JD(S) may contest in three seats -- Mandya, Hassan, and Kolar. There may also be a possibility of a JD(S) candidate contesting on the BJP symbol, according to sources, and it is likely to be noted cardiac surgeon and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's son-in-law Dr. C N Manjunath from the Bangalore Rural segment, where sitting MP and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh is likely to be the Congress candidate once again. There is also pressure from party workers on Gowda's son -- former CM and JD(S) state President H D Kumaraswamy -- to contest from the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S) sources added.

The BJP aims to repeat or surpass its 2019 Lok Sabha polls performance, when it swept the state, winning 25 out of the total 28 seats, and ensured the victory of a party-supported independent candidate in Mandya. The Congress and the JD(S), which were running a coalition government back then and fought the election together, each won just one seat. However, the political landscape has changed significantly; the Congress scored a resounding victory in the Assembly elections in May last year and now appears battle-ready, determined to put up a strong show in the Lok Sabha polls. It is also a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year and aims to prove that it is still a force to be reckoned with, particularly in South Karnataka.