Decision on BJP candidates for all 28 LS seats in Karnataka likely on Wednesday: Yediyurappa

Shivamogga: Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday said the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting will be held on March six, during which the candidates for all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, will “by and large” be decided.

The former Chief Minister, a member of BJP’s all important Parliamentary Board and CEC, said he is going to the national capital to take part in the meeting.

“Tomorrow there is an Election Committee meeting in Delhi, it is an important meeting to finalise Karnataka candidates, so I’m leaving for Delhi to participate in the meeting,” Yediyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, the candidates for the 28 Lok Sabha seats will by and large be decided at the meeting, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior party leaders.

The BJP had swept the 2019 general elections winning 25 out of the 28 seats, while an independent backed by it had also emerged victorious.

The Congress and the JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, which were running a coalition government back then and fought the election together, had come a cropper winning just one seat each.

But the political scene has changed significantly since then. The Congress scored a thumping victory in the Assembly elections in May last year and now appears battle-ready, determined to put up a strong show in the Lok Sabha polls.

It is also a role reversal of sorts for JD(S) which joined the BJP-led NDA in September last year and wants to prove that it’s still a force to reckon with, particularly in South Karnataka.

Both BJP and JD(S) have had discussions on seat sharing. However, there is no official announcement yet.

As per information available so far, JD(S) may contest in three or four seats. There is also a possibility of a candidate from the JD(S) contesting on the BJP symbol, sources said.