JOIN USThe Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) on Monday decided to put on hold the shortlisting of candidates for the Assembly polls till the completion of the election process for urban local bodies.
A decision to this effect was taken at the KJP office-bearers’ meet here on Monday. The KJP, which is testing the electoral waters for the first time, recently started the process of shortlisting candidates for the Assembly polls. Now, it wants to focus all its energy on the ULB polls, and later the Assembly elections.
The KJP sources said the party wants to take the maximum advantage of the rebel factor bound to rise in the BJP and Congress after the two parties announce the list of candidates for the ULB polls. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, KJP president B S Yeddyurappa said that the party has moved the Election Commission of India to allocate coconut as its party symbol for the ULB as well as the Assembly polls. The KJP is a registered but unrecognised party by the Election Commission.
KJP campaign committee chairperson Dhananjay Kumar said there are 86 free symbols and the KJP has opted for coconut as its symbol because it is a popular item. But the Election Commission has not confirmed whether the symbol would be granted.
“In the ‘B’ form, there are two columns – one for indicating the party name and another symbol. We will ask our candidates to indicate coconut as the symbol, but there is no guarantee that all the KJP candidates would be given the same symbol. If more than one candidate seeks coconut as the symbol, then the returning officer will have to draw a lot and go by the result. In case of the KJP, it is the party that matters, not the symbol,” he said.
As per the EC, a party will be recognised, only if it gets eight per cent of the total votes polled in the elections. Hence, only after the results of the ULB polls are out, the party would be able to approach the EC, seeking coconut as the permanent symbol, he said.