Karnataka: BJP medical cell wants tickets for 16 doctors

Ballari: Healing people may be their profession, but the lure of politics seems to be proving irresistible to several doctors, who are hoping to contest the coming assembly poll in the state. 

Going by sources in the various political parties, they could field physicians in around 25 to 30 assembly constituencies these elections. While the medical cell of the BJP has suggested fielding 16 physicians in the poll, several doctors are also reportedly vying for Congress and JDS tickets. While the trend is not new,it is clearly catching on. 

Already as many as 11 physicians have been elected to the current assembly , the highest number in  its history.

The physcians turned serving MLAs are  Dr Sharana Prakash Patil, Dr. Shivaram Patil, Dr Bhagavan Mukbul, Dr Vishwanath Patil, Dr Ashwath Narayan, Dr Srinivas Murthy, Dr Sudhakar Reddy, Dr Ajay Singh, Dr Jadhav, Dr HC Mahadevappa, Dr AB Malakareddy. 

Two doctors have also been  elected to the Legislative Council. Now BJP's medical cell convenor, Dr.K M Basavaraj and co- convener, Dr Prashant Kadakol have written to the party’s  national general secretary, Muralidhar Rao, who is in- charge of Karnataka, requesting him to consider 16 doctors from various constituencies for party tickets. Interestingly, they have proposed that a physician, Dr B K Sundar, should contest from the prestigious Ballari City assembly constituency where  former MLA, Gali Somashekhar Reddy is preparing to contest the poll.  

Going by party insiders  Mr Sundar's chances of getting the party ticket are high owing to his family's close association with External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, who reportedly stayed in his house when she contested the Lok Sabha poll from Ballari in 1999 against former Congress president, Sonia Gandhi.