The Janata Dal (Secular), which is still to announce candidates for 16 Lok Sabha constituencies, appears to be wooing disgruntled leaders from mainstream political parties. After roping in V. Dhananjay Kumar from Karnataka Janata Paksha and fielding him from Udupi-Chikmagalur, the party is in talks with retired Director-General of Police and former Lok Sabha member H.T. Sangliana and is offering him ticket from Bangalore Central constituency.
Mr. Sangliana was reportedly dissatisfied with not being offered Congress ticket for this constituency, from where he had unsuccessfully contested in 2009. Sources in the JD(S) told The Hindu that Mr. Sangliana had a telephonic conversation with party national president H.D. Deve Gowda on Thursday morning, when he indicated his desire. Chamarajpet MLA B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, reportedly had a personal meeting with Mr. Sangliana on Wednesday. However, nothing official has come forth from the party. Mr. Sangliana was not available for comment.
At the same time, the JD(S) is also trying to get retired IPS officer K.C. Ramamurthy, who was an aspirant for Congress ticket from Bangalore North. His nomination for the Congress primaries for Bangalore North was rejected on technical grounds.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told The Hindu that fielding Congress leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief from Mysore is almost certain. Mr. Sharief is on a pilgrimage and will be back on March 23.
In Mandya, former Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy announced the candidature of C.S. Puttaraju, who lost the 2013 byelection to Ramya of the Congress. Mr. Sharief’s candidature from Mysore was announced by G.T. Deve Gowda and others in Mysore.
