The Bharatiya Janata Party has reportedly decided to put the process of selection of candidate for Bangalore North seat on hold. The selection for this seat has become a complicated issue with none of the prominent contenders willing to withdraw from the race.
“We do not want to hurry through as the election date is yet to be announced. No decision is likely to be taken at least for a week to 10 days,” sources in the BJP said. “We may finalise the first list of candidates in 10 to 12 days. If it is not possible to choose the candidate by then for Bangalore North seat, then it will not be part of the first list,” they said.
The former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and the former Deputy Chief Minister R. Ashok are competing to get the party ticket for this constituency. A week ago, Mr. Gowda had almost emerged as the natural choice as Mr. Ashok had virtually withdrawn from the contest. However, this became a problematic issue when party national general secretary Ananth Kumar reportedly favoured Mr. Ashok’s candidature at a meeting of the party State leaders with the central leaders held in Delhi recently.
Sources said: “There is also a possibility of the seat going to a dark horse if the tussle between these two leaders intensifies.”
What has added to this complexity is the statement by the former Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Monday that she too is an aspirant for Bangalore North LS seat. Ms. Karandlaje, a close aide of the former Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, told The Hindu that she wanted to contest from Bangalore North as she was earlier elected to the State Assembly from Yeshwantpur, which is a part of this Lok Sabha constituency.
Though Mr. Ashok has started making his presence felt in the constituency by attending various programmes, a senior leader said the party is yet to finalise the candidate for this seat.
