BJP to drop 20% MLAs in Karnataka

NEW DELHI: Going for a major overhaul, the BJP leadership is expected to deny tickets to at least 20 per cent of the sitting legislators in the forthcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. The blueprint for the election strategy and ticket distribution have reportedly been finalised. The BJP parliamentary board meeting anytime between April 6 and April 8 will finalise the first list, sources said.

It was learnt that both the Central and state leadership have conducted a thorough survey in all 224 Assembly constituencies and candidates will be selected as per the survey reports. Speaking to this newspaper, a senior party functionary said the tickets "will be decided on the basis of the survey reports and the winnability of the candidates."

Last week, Union home minister Amit Shah held a meeting of the core committee to discuss election strategy and candidate selection. Another meeting of the core committee is expected to be held on Sunday.

To counter anti-incumbency, the party has taken detailed feedback from the grassroots workers and district-level office bearers. The party has decided to give the grassroots workers a "major say" in selecting the candidates, the functionary pointed out.

Earlier, to track the performance of the candidates, the BJP had deputed "in-charges" in all 224 Assembly berths. As the party MLAs wait anxiously for the first list, the Lingayat strongman B.S. Yediyurappa told the local media today that his son B.Y. Vijayendra "will contest from Shikaripura" Assembly constituency from which he had won seven times since 1983. The former chief minister, Yediyurappa apparently dismissed reports that his son will be pitted against the Congress heavyweight Siddaramaiah from the Varuna Assembly berth.

Meanwhile, all eyes will be on the caste-based ticket distribution in the BJP. Of the 124 candidates selected by the Congress in their first list, 28 are from the numerically strong Lingayat community. The second list of the Congress is expected during the first week of April.

Amid the hectic political activities, the state chief minister Basavaraja Bommai accused the Congress of "calling up the BJP legislators and offering them tickets".

The JD(S) has also announced its list of 93 candidates. While the JD(S) will attempt to defend the Vokkaliga-dominated old Mysur region, the BJP has been working hard to make inroads in the region in recent years. The BJP recently got a major boost with Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh announcing her support for the BJP. On Saturday, a JD(S) MLA A.T. Ramaswamy joined the BJP.