MLC polls: BSY breathes easy, most picks of state unit make the cut

BJP leaders, including Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, heaved a sigh of relief after the central leadership approved the names they recommended for the June 29 MLC elections.

This includes two turncoats - M T B Nagaraj and R Shankar - who helped the BJP come to power.

Ex-MLA Sunil Vallyapure, a Yediyurappa loyalist, also got the ticket as a reward, along with Pratap Simha Nayak, who was backed by BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel. In all this, another turncoat A H Vishwanath has been left high and dry, saying his name was removed at the last minute.

Nominations for MLC elections came days after the party’s central leadership snubbed the state unit and nominated ‘ordinary party workers’ to Rajya Sabha. This led to speculation that a similar snub may be in the offing now.

Yediyurappa, who was under pressure, ensured that Nagaraj and Shankar secured the nomination. His recommendation of Vallyapure also made the cut, as Vallyapure had given up the Chincholi Assembly seat to Avinash Jadhav in the April 2019 by-elections, after Jadhav’s father Umesh Jadhav jumped ship to BJP.

Nagaraj suffered a defeat in the December by-polls last year, losing to independent candidate Sharath Bache Gowda - son of BJP MP B N Bache Gowda, and had accused ‘some’ BJP leaders of sabotaging his imminent win in Hoskote constituency.

But former minister A H Vishwanath, another turncoat, was left disappointed. What was to be his ticket went to Nayak. Recalling that the CM had assured him of the nomination, Vishwanath said his name featured in the list sent to the high command and alleged that the Opposition Congress and JD(S) lobbied to ensure he missed the ticket. “I will reveal more about it in the coming days.”

Nagaraj, who has set his eyes on becoming a minister along with Shankar, thanked Yediyurappa for “being true to his word”. On ministerial aspirations, he said that there are no promises yet.