LS polls: BJP announces four more candidates for Karnataka
Bengaluru, Mar 24: Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri are among the four candidates in the BJP's second list for Karnataka on Sunday.
As expected, Shettar will contest from Belgaum (Belagavi) constituency, while Kageri will fight from Uttara Kannada district, replacing sitting MP Anantkumar Hegde.
According to the list released by the party in New Delhi, the other two candidates fielded by the party are former Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar from Chikkaballapura and Raja Amareshwara Naik from Raichur.
Shettar assumed different positions right from party state president, leader of the opposition, assembly speaker and chief minister of Karnataka.
A staunch RSS man, Shettar quit the BJP in 2023 when he was denied a ticket in the assembly election. In less than a year, he was back to his parent organisation.
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Shettar wanted to contest the Lok Sabha election from Haveri constituency but the party decided to field him from Belagavi.
Kageri's selection was also on the anvil as the party had made up its mind to find a suitable replacement to Anantkumar Hegde, who had caused much embarrassment to the party time and again.
Kageri, a six-time MLA, is well known for his balanced views, his strong footing in the RSS ideology and well-weighed words. He hails from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district.
As Union Minister of State, Hedge, on December 26, 2017, said that the BJP came to power to change the Constitution triggering a nationwide uproar. Later, he had to apologise for his comment.
Recently, Hegde said the BJP's call for winning more than 400 seats in the Lok Sabha was to bring amendments to the Constitution. This led to sharp reactions from various quarters.
A three-time MLA, Dr K Sudhakar is a well known name in Chikkaballapura. He lost the 2023 assembly election from Chikkaballapura assembly constituency.
He was previously with the Congress but resigned from the assembly in 2019, a year after winning the election.
A medical professional Sudhakar was among the 18 disqualified MLAs who later joined the BJP.
He successfully contested the 2019 bypoll and during COVID-19 pandemic he was given the health and medical education portfolio.
The BJP has so far announced candidates for 24 Lok Sabha constituencies.
The general elections in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7 for 28 constituencies.
@BJP4India ಇಂದು ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಲೋಕಸಭಾ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಕಾಶ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಂಡ ಬೆಳಗಾವಿ, ಉತ್ತರ ಕನ್ನಡ, ರಾಯಚೂರು ಹಾಗೂ ಚಿಕ್ಕಬಳ್ಳಾಪುರ ಲೋಕಸಭಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರಗಳ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೃತ್ಪೂರ್ವಕ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು.
— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (Modi Ka Parivar) (@BYVijayendra) March 24, 2024
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Followed poll processes transparently, will review all legitimate concerns: EC to Cong
New Delhi (PTI): The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all poll procedures it followed in Maharashtra were transparent and assured that it would review all legitimate concerns flagged by the Congress, which alleged serious inconsistencies.
In its interim response to the party, the poll authority invited a Congress delegation on December 3 to discuss concerns expressed by it.
The Congress on Friday raised with the Election Commission "serious and grave inconsistencies" which it said were being revealed in the data relating to the polling and counting processes for the recently-concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls and sought an in-person hearing to present relevant evidence.
In the response, the EC reiterated that the process was transparent with the involvement of candidates or their agents at every stage.
The commission also assured of a review of the Congress' legitimate concerns and a written response after hearing the party's delegation in person.
It asserted that a transparent electoral roll updation process was undertaken with the involvement of all political parties.
Responding to the issue regarding the voter turnout data, the EC asserted that there was no discrepancy in it and the data was available with all candidates polling station-wise and is verifiable.
The gap in the 5 pm polling data and the final voter turnout was due to procedural priorities, as presiding officers perform multiple statutory duties near the close of polling before updating the voter turnout data.
As an additional disclosure measure, an EC press note at around 11:45 pm was introduced during the 2024 Lok Sabha election and followed subsequently during all assembly polls thereafter, the poll body told the Congress.
