On Friday, 16 councillors of the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) and 49 party office-bearers tendered their resignations, condemning the delay in announcing the ticket to the former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.
It may be recalled that Mr. Shettar had openly conveyed his decision to contest the election after being asked by the high command to retire from politics. Subsequently, Mr. Shettar was called to New Delhi by BJP national president J.P. Nadda, who reportedly assured Mr. Shettar of reconsidering the party’s decision. However, the party has not yet announced the candidate for Hubballi Dharwad Central constituency which Mr. Shettar has won six times.
On Friday, 16 councillors, including Deputy Mayor of Hubballi-Dharwad Uma Mukund and former Mayor Viranna Savadi, sent their resignations to BJP State president Nalin Kumar Kateel in a bid to pressurise the party to announce the ticket to their leader immediately.
Along with them, 49 office-bearers, including State office-bearers of various morchas, sent their resignations to Mr. Kateel. Almost all the party-office bearers of the Hubballi Dharwad Central Assembly constituency and various wings of Hubballi-Dharwad Mahanagar Zilla unit are among those who tendered their resignations.
In their resignation letters, they have said that they were pained by the delay in announcing the ticket to Mr. Shettar.
In Kundagol, Dharwad district, the former MLA S.I. Chikkanagoudar has already announced that he would quit the BJP after being denied the ticket.
In Gadag and Haveri
Meanwhile, in Gadag, MLA Ramanna Lamani is miffed over being denied the BJP ticket in Shirahatti constituency and the former MLA Sureshgouda Patil has expressed his dissent over the allotment of the ticket in Byadgi constituency. Nehru Olekar, MLA, representing Haveri (SC), met the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in Bengaluru on Friday but indications are that he would go ahead with decision of quitting the party.
Mr. Shettar has called a meeting of his loyalists at 11 a.m. on Saturday and said he would take a call on his next move after consultations
