Announcement of the first list of 72 candidates by the Bharatiya Janata Party late on Sunday for the Assembly elections triggered heartburn among disappointed ticket aspirants in different parts of the State. They have not only resorted to protests, but also alleged the role of money.
BJP top leaders, who returned from New Delhi after the central election committee meeting, had to face embarrassing moments as the disappointed ticket aspirants started holding meetings with their supporters to decide their future course of action.
In Bengaluru, BJP leader N.R. Ramesh, who missed ticket for Chickpet constituency, publicly alleged the role of money. He said Union Minister Ananth Kumar was responsible for businessman Uday Garudachar getting ticket from Chickpet despite losing the previous elections.
The ticket distribution issue appears to have again brought to fore allegations of leaders from Karnataka Janata Party, with which Mr. Yeddyurappa associated himself for over a year, getting priority over loyal BJP workers in some constituencies.
In Bailhongal of Belagavi district, Vishwanath Patil, who had contested the previous polls on KJP ticket, has got ticket this time while senior leader Jagadish Metgud who had contested against him as BJP nominee has missed out this time. The supporters of Mr. Metgud alleged bias towards KJP in ticket selection. They staged a protest, shouted slogans against Mr. Yeddyurappa, and beat his effigy with footwear.
In Molakalmur of Chitradurga district, sitting MLA Thippeswamy has been ignored by the party, which has given ticket to B. Sriramulu, a leader from the neighbouring Ballari district. This has upset Mr. Thippeswamy who sent out a strong message to the party top leaders by holding a meeting of his supporters to express dissatisfaction.
In Bijapur, former Minister Appu Pattanshetty, who missed party ticket, kept his supporters guessing on his next political move. But he expressed dissatisfaction over people from other parties being inducted into BJP.
However, seeking to play down the embarrassing episode, BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru that disappointment was common soon after declaration of party ticket. He said he would hold personal consultations with disappointed ticket aspirants to assuage their feelings.
