Bengaluru, Apr 18: Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra and Fakira Dingaleshwar Swami of Shirahatti Fakkireshwar Math are among prominent candidates in the Lok Sabha election who filed their nominations on Thursday, for the second phase of polling in Karnataka on May 7.

Yediyurappa, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and several other leaders of the BJP-JD(S) alliance held a massive road show in support of sitting MP Raghavendra who later submitted his papers as the BJP candidate from Shimoga, a seat he has represented thrice in Parliament.

Dingaleshwar Swami, a prominent Veerashaiva Lingayat seer who filed his nomination as an independent from Dharwad Lok Sabha segment, is taking on BJP MP and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. He has accused Joshi of “suppressing” Veerashaiva-Lingayats and other communities, and also misusing the Lingayat maths and causing disrespect to them, in order to stay in power.

ALSO READ: BY Raghavendra and his wife have assets worth Rs 73.71 crore

Two other BJP MPs, P C Gaddigoudar and Umesh Jadhav, also formally entered the fray from Bagalkote and Gulbarga Lok Sabha segments, respectively.

Jadhav, who in 2019 defeated Congress's current National President M Mallikarjun Kharge, is facing his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, who is the grand old party's candidate.

BJP's Raja Amareshwara Naik from Raichur filed his papers, as also did his opponent, retired IAS officer G Kumar Naik (Congress)

Minister Satish Jarkiholi's daughter and Congress candidate from Chikkodi Priyanka Jarkiholi too filed her nomination.

Polling in Karnataka will take place in two phases. In the first phase, 14 out of the state's 28 Lok Sabha constituencies will go to the polls on April 26.

In the remaining 14 segments, voting will take place in the second phase on May 7, for which April 19 is the last day for filing nominations. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on April 20 and April 22 is the last day for withdrawal of papers.

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Patna (PTI): RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya's bid to reclaim the Saran Lok Sabha seat, once represented by the socialist leader, for the party is being challenged by a namesake of her father.

Contestant Laloo Prasad Yadav, a local farmer from Bihar's Saran district, the 'karmabhoomi' of his famous namesake, has a penchant for contesting elections.

This time, he filed his nomination papers as a candidate of the Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party (RJP) for Saran Lok Sabha seat on April 26.

Earlier, Laloo Prasad Yadav had filed his nominations for 2022 Presidential polls as well. He had also filed his nomination papers for the 2017 Presidential polls, which was a contest between the then Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, who went on to win, and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who was a native of the soil.

However, his papers got rejected in the 2017 Presidential polls since those were not endorsed by an adequate number of proposers.

"I have been contesting Lok Sabha polls from Saran constituency for the last several terms. I had contested against former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi as well. This time, I am contesting against her daughter Rohini Acharya," Laloo Prasad Yadav told PTI over the phone.

He also exuded of "winning the election by a comfortable margin".

"I engage in agriculture for a living and also do social work. I keep trying my luck, from panchayat to Presidential polls. I am leaving no stone unturned to win this election... people of Saran are with me," Yadav said.

When asked about his opponents calling him 'dharti pakad' (one who clings on to the earth), a term associated with those who like to contest polls for the sake of thrill and publicity, and 'vote katwa' (one who divides votes), Yadav said, "I don't care about all these labels. They are my opponents and they will say such things. I contest polls only for the sake of my electorate in Saran."

According to the affidavit filed by the RJP candidate, Yadav has Rs 5 lakh cash in hand whereas his wife has 2 lakh cash. He owns movable assets worth Rs 17.60 lakh and his wife owns movable assets worth Rs 5.20 lakh.