Agree to new nominee in Udupi-C'magalur: Shobha

BJP state general secretary Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday said she was ready to campaign for any candidate selected by the party to contest the Udupi-Chikamagalur Lok Sabha seat, a constituency which she represents at present.

At the same time, Karandlaje said she would not shirk from contesting from the seat again should the party give her the ticket and rubbished reports that she was unpopular in the constituency.

There have been discussions on her candidature in BJP circles following social media campaigns that have sought to project her as unpopular in the constituency and that someone else should be given the ticket to contest.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Karandlaje said the social media campaign was the handiwork of her detractors within the party. “The party central leadership has taken note of this. I will abide by the final decision of the party,” she said.

The name of former MP and minister K Jayaprakash Hegde, who joined the BJP quitting the Congress, is doing the rounds. Hegde represented Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency between 2012 and 2014.

Karandlaje said she has been working tirelessly for the development of the constituency during the last four-and-a-half years. Several infrastructure projects had been completed and farmers had got a good price for their produce, the MP said. Hitting out at the coalition government, she said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had failed on all fronts of governance.

She charged that central grants were being diverted and the NDA government was being blamed for not releasing funds to Karnataka.