BJP to field candidates in all 28 LS seats in Karnataka: KS Eshwarappa
Bengaluru, Mar 20: The Bharatiya Janata Party will field its candidates in all 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka, senior BJP leader and MLA K S Eshwarappa said Wednesday.
The former deputy chief minister also said the list of candidates has been almost finalised and could be released Wednesday night.
"Our list of candidates is almost final...In all likelihood our national president would release it tonight. We are contesting in all the 28 Lok Sabha seats.We are getting more than expected overwhelming support," Eshwarappa told reporters.
He was also asked about the Mandya parliamentary seat from where actor Sumalatha, the widow of popular Kannada film actor and former Mandya MP, is in the fray.
There are 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, including Mandya, the Shivamogga MLA said.
Earlier when Sumalatha announced her decision to contest from the constituency as an Independent, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa had said the party would take a call on Mandya.
Sumalatha filed her nomination from Mandya Wednesday.
Replying to a query that fielding a candidate in Mandya would mean there is no support for Sumalatha, Eshwarappa said, "I am telling you specifically that there is no dilemma."
"When I said that we are fielding a candidate in Mandya, what should it mean? We will not back stab our candidate by supporting any other person," he said.
The decision to field candidates in all the 28 seats was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah after consulting the party state president, Eshwarappa said.
The BJP will make all efforts to win all the seats in the state, he added.
Sources in BJP told that the party decided to field a candidate in Mandya as a precautionary measure.
"What if Sumalatha suddenly withdraws her nomination succumbing to some pressure. Earlier also, we had a similar experience. This is the reason that we have decided to field our candidate," a senior BJP functionary said.
Karnataka will go to the polls in two phases, 14 constituencies each, on April 18 and 23.
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Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
