Mysuru: Former chief minister B S Yediyurappa and his son BJP president B Y Vijayendra have had their way, in nominating S Balaraj as the party nominee in Chamarajanagar (SC reserved) constituency, for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Balaraj, former Congress MLA of Kollegal, joined the BJP for the second time, when he was denied Congress ticket in the 2023 Assembly poll. The father-son duo of Yediyurappa-Vijayendra was instrumental in inducting him back into the BJP. He was assured the ticket for the 2024 LS poll and thus he supported BJP candidate N Mahesh in the 2023 poll.
Balaraj was born to S Sanjeevaiah and Lakshmamma couple in Maddur village of Yalandur taluk of Chamarajanagar district.
Present Chamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad has announced his official retirement, after five decades of political career, for March 17. Two of his sons-in-law Dr N S Mohan and B Harshavardhan were also aspirants. Besides, G Narayanaswamy, director of National Academy of Customs Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) at Palasamudram in Andhra Pradesh, was also an aspirant. He is a native of Savakanapalya in Gundlupet taluk.
Balaraj, a follower of the late Union minister Rajashekara Murthy, started his political career in 1994 in the Congress. This is his first Lok Sabha contest. In 1999, he unsuccessfully contested from Kollegal Assembly segment as a BJP nominee. As Independent, he won the 2004 poll, but lost in 2008. In the 2009 bypoll, he was a JD(S) nominee, but lost. In 2013, he unsuccessfully contested as a nominee of KJP, headed by Yediyurappa. When the KJP merged with BJP, Balaraj returned to the Congress, to come a full circle, but was denied tickets in the 2018 and 2023 polls. He was a close associate of the late MP R Dhruvanarayan.
Published 13 March 2024, 18:02 IST