The disinclination of political parties opposed to the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, especially the Janata Dal (Secular), to strike an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, has forced the Left parties to finalise candidates for five of the 28 constituencies in Karnataka.
While Communist Party of India (Marxist) will contest in Chickballapur and Mangalore, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has decided to field its candidates in Udupi-Chikmagalur and Davanagere. The Forward Bloc is planning to contest from Bangalore South constituency. The JD(S), considered to be the ‘third force’ in the State, has not consulted the Left parties on the issue of seat-sharing. Speaking to The Hindu , CPI(M) State secretary G.V. Srirama Reddy said the State unit had not approached the JD(S) on seat-sharing. The party’s central committee, which met on March 2 and 3 had decided to field candidates: “Me [ Srirama Reddy] from Chickballapur and Yadav Shetty from Mangalore. Our slogan is defeat the BJP and reject the Congress”.
Similarly, member of CPI National Council Siddanagouda Patil said as there was no communication on seat-sharing from the party’s central committee, the State unit had decided to field Vijaya Kumar from Chikmagalur and H.K. Ramachandrappa from Davangere constituencies. “Names of candidates have been forwarded to the central committee for approval,” he said.
There was a plan to field a candidate from Tumkur, if the party decides against seat-sharing. “The party’s national council will be meeting on March 8 and 9 to decide on the candidates and strategy for the polls, Mr. Patil said. The Forward Bloc is also planning to field its candidate from Bangalore South.
