With the BJP preparing to disclose its list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections, discontent has begun to emerge inside the party, with former chief minister Jagadish Shettar reportedly being refused a ticket. However, the six-term MLA has requested the party to rethink and stated that he will run ‘at any cost.’
Shettar attended a news conference on Tuesday evening, during which he said that the high command had urged him at the last minute not to run in the impending election.
“I am really disappointed. I’ve been with the party for over 30 years and helped build it. They could have contacted me two or three months ago and I would have accepted. But, with only a few days till the nominations are due, I’ve been advised not to run. I’ve already begun campaigning in the district,” he said.
The former chief minister said that he told the party’s high command that he would contest at all costs and has asked them to reconsider. “I inquired whether there is an anti-incumbency wave or if there are any claims. I am confident they will take my request into consideration,” he stated.
Shettar stated that the call came from the top leadership on Tuesday. “The Assembly constituency survey also suggests that the BJP has a winning wave. In politics, I have no blemishes. I’ve been loyal to the party, and I believe that loyalty has become a problem,” he remarked.
In 2018, the Hubballi-Dharwad MLA received 75,794 votes (51.31%).
Shettar, a loyal assistant of B S Yediyurappa, became Karnataka’s chief minister in 2012, when the state BJP was embroiled in a mining dispute. He had taken over for D V Sadananda Gowda at the time. He was also the Karnataka Assembly’s opposition leader.
Shettar, whose family had ties to Jansangh for five decades, has also worked with the RSS. His brother Pradeep Shettar is an MLC, and his uncle Sadashiva Shettar was an MLA from the Hubballi seat.
His father, S S Shettar, was elected mayor of the municipal corporation of Hubballi-Dharwad. For over two decades, Jagadish Shettar and Union minister Pralhad Joshi have wielded considerable power in the Hubballi-Dharwad area.
An upset Shettar might cause problems for the BJP in Hubballi and North Karnataka, where he is a powerful figure.
He is from the influential Lingayat community, which holds high priority among political parties in the state .
