Bengaluru, Mar 30: Amid speculation over whom the BJP would field against Karnataka Congress strongman Siddaramaiah in Varuna constitutency in the May 10 Assembly polls, party stalwart B S Yediyurappa on Thursday did not rule out the possibility of his son B Y Vijayendra entering the fray.

Varuna in Mysuru district is among the key seats to watch out for as Siddaramaiah, the Congress legislature party leader and former Chief Minister, has thrown his hat in the ring in this segment, currently represented his son Yathindra.

When asked by reporters whether Vijayendra would be fielded from Varuna, Yediyurappa said, "Discussions are going on. Siddaramaiah knows that his ground is slipping away. I don't think it is so easy for him. We will field a good candidate. We will give a tough fight. Let's see what happens."

The BJP veteran and four-time Chief Minister said the decision on whether to give the Varuna ticket to Vijayendra, who is the state BJP vice-president, would be left to the party's central leadership.

Commenting about it, Siddaramaiah told reporters at the Congress office that he was not bothered about the candidate who would contest against him.

Congress state president D K Shivakumar who was also present, quipped that his party would welcome it if Yediyurappa himself decided to contest from Varuna.

Yediyurappa has announced his retirement from electoral politics.

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Ayodhya, Sep 27: The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department on Friday collected samples of 'elaichi daana' or cardamom seeds being distributed as 'prasad' at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple here and sent them for testing, officials said.

The action was taken following a complaint lodged through the Integrated Grievance Redressal System (IGRS), Assistant Food Commissioner Manik Chand Singh said.

Singh said the samples were procured from Haiderganj, where the cardamom seed offerings are prepared and sent to the Jhansi State Laboratory for comprehensive testing and evaluation.

Prakash Gupta, the officer in charge of the Ram Temple trust, revealed that on average, around 80,000 packets of cardamom seeds are distributed daily as a sacred offering.

Amid a row over the alleged presence of animal fat in laddus at the Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh, the chief priest of the Ram temple here on Thursday questioned the purity of ghee being sold nationwide and said 'prasad' should be prepared under the supervision of temple priests only.