Karnataka polls: BJP has given tickets to those from humble backgrounds, says Kateel

BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel maintained on Saturday that there was no groupism in the party.

Kateel told a press meet that the BJP would benefit from the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the social welfare programmes launched by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor B S Yediyurappa.

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The party's list of candidates is a fine balance between young and new faces, he said.

When asked about the exodus of leaders from the BJP, he said there was heartburn among leaders over denial of tickets, but that would not have a major impact.

On the kin of leaders being given tickets, he said, "Be it B Y Vijayendra (Yediyurappa's son) or Siddharath Singh (son of Minister Anand Singh), they have been BJP workers for long. Vijayendra is BJP state vice-president, while Singh is Yuva Morcha leader. Hence, they were nominated by the party.”

The BJP has also fielded the likes of Bhagirathi Marulya. Gururaj Gantiholi and Eshwar Thakur, who come from humble backgrounds and were RSS pracharaks.