Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Sep 18: BJP state president, B S Yeddyurappa, publicly acknowledged that he has been asked by senior leaders of the party to contest from a north Karnataka constituency in the next assembly election, and that he has willingly agreed for this suggestion. He was speaking after inaugurating the executive committee meeting of party's farmers' wing here on Sunday September 17.
"Party leaders feel that my contesting the election from North Karnataka constituency will benefit the party," he said. He revealed that pressure from different districts, particularly Ballari, Bagalkot, Haveri and Vijayapura, is mounting on him to contest from there. He said he has not taken a decision on this issue so far.
Yeddyurappa, who has earlier won from Shikaripura seat seven times since 1983, is contesting from a constituency outside Shivamogga district for the first time. Party analysts believe that there is strong chance of him choosing to fight the election from either Vijayapura or Bagalkot district as leaders like Govind Karjol, Murugesh Nirani, MP, Gaddigoudar and G S Nyamagouda , who met Yeddyurappa at his residence here, urged him to fight the election from their home district, Bagalkot. Sources say that Yeddyurappa may take a decision and announce the same within a week.
There is likelihood of him contesting from Ranebennur in Haveri district, or alternatively from Terdal or Badami in Bagalkot district. His son, Raghavendra, is in charge of preparing favourable pitch for BJP in Rnebennur constituency now. Raghavendra will automatically get Shikaripur constituency once Yeddyurappa exits from there. Yeddyurappa said he is very much attached to Shivamogga and Shikaripura because of sincere party workers there and that he has chosen to shift out of this district at the instance of party leaders.
Although some feel that Yeddyurappa is being fielded from north Karnataka as a strategy by BJP to set right the reverses the party faced in controversy over giving religion status to Lingayat, and to offset the standing of M B Patil, many BJP workers argue that the focus is on developing North Karnataka and to explore irrigation potential of the region in a stronger way, and these things have made the leaders to ask Yeddyurappa to shift to north Karnataka.