Nirmala, Jaishankar to contest Lok Sabha polls from Karnataka?

Bengaluru: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Karnataka, according to discussions being held in the BJP circles. 

The BJP wants Union ministers who are currently Rajya Sabha members to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

Accordingly, suitable seats are being scouted for the likes of Nirmala and Jaishankar.

Nirmala represents Karnataka and Jaishankar Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha.

According to sources, the BJP has thought about fielding Nirmala from the Dakshina Kannada seat, which is a saffron stronghold currently held by the party’s former Karnataka president Nalin Kumar Kateel.

For Jaishankar, there are multiple options, according to sources.

Uttara Kannada, another BJP stronghold where Hindutva firebrand Ananthkumar Hegde is the current MP, is one calculation the party has for the diplomat-turned-politician.

The BJP also feels that Bangalore South and Bangalore Central seats may be “safe” for Jaishankar.

Pertinently, Jaishankar has been frequenting Bengaluru, a city with which he said last week he has “long personal association”.

He attended the Rashtriya Military School here.

Jaishankar made multiple visits to Bengaluru during the BJP’s Assembly election campaign. He had events at educational institutions, Cubbon Park and even went out to eat at the famous VV Puram Food Street. He was here last week to interact with students at PES University.

Bangalore South is currently represented by BJP Yuva Morcha national president Tejasvi Surya. While sources said there is no opposition to Surya’s re-nomination, he could miss the ticket if Jaishankar is picked.

It is also said that the name of Karnataka BJP vice-president Tejaswini Ananthkumar is doing the rounds for Bangalore South. Tejaswini is the wife of late HN Ananthkumar, the BJP stalwart who represented Bangalore South for six consecutive terms from 1996. After his untimely death in 2018, Tejaswini was widely expected to succeed him as the 2019 Lok Sabha candidate, but the BJP sprang a surprise by fielding Surya, who was a political greenhorn.