Yediyurappa's son denied tickets for MLC polls

bengaluru: In what is being seen in some political quarters as a setback to former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the BJP central leadership on Tuesday denied MLC tickets to his son B Y Vijayendra and a loyalist.

Ignoring the recommendation of the state unit to field Vijayendra for the June 3 biennial election to seven seats of Karnataka Legislative Council, the party central leadership on Tuesday announced names four candidates, hours before the deadline for filing of nominations ended on Tuesday.

The candidates announced by the BJP central leadership are: former Deputy Chief Minister and party vice-president Laxman Savadi, party's state secretaries Hemalatha Nayak and and S Keshavaprasad, and President of SC Morcha Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.

The party also fielded JD(S) veteran Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council and MLC, and joined the party, as the candidate for upcoming MLC polls from West Teachers' constituency, for which poll is scheduled on June 13. Yediyurappa's loyalist Mohan Limbikai was a key aspirant of BJP ticket to the seat, but was overlooked.

The state BJP core committee had earlier recommended Vijayendra's name to central leadership, as one of the probable candidates. With party deciding against fielding him as candidate, Vijayendra issued an appeal and said power and position itself are not the ultimate objectives in politics.

Asking his supporters to abide by the party's decision, he also appealed against making any unnecessary comments on social media, stating that it will not only damage the reputation of the party but also hurt the sentiments of Yediyurappa.

He also recalled that his father has dedicated his life to building and strengthening the party in Karnataka from the grassroots. Yediyurappa also tweeted congratulating the candidates announced by the central leadership.

According to party sources, leadership decided against giving ticket to Vijayendra, as it wants to field him as a candidate during 2023 Assembly polls, and is likely to give him greater role ahead of polls.