Former MLA and BJP leader Raghupathi Bhat has expressed his disappointment over being denied the party ticket to contest the Legislative Council polls from Karnataka South-West Graduates’ Constituency.
The party has decided to field Dr. Dhananjaya Sarji, a paediatrician and chairman of the Sarji Group of Hospitals in Shivamogga. Mr. Raghupathi Bhat, a three-time MLA from Udupi, was an aspirant for the party ticket.
In a post on his Facebook page, Mr. Raghupathi Bhat said he was disturbed by the party’s decision. Since 1994, he said, he had been an active worker for the BJP. He worked for the party in different capacities. He won all three times that he contested for the State Assembly. In the last Assembly elections held in 2023, he was denied the ticket. “However, I worked for the party. Senior leaders of the party had assured me a chance to contest for South-West Graduates’ Constituency. Hence, I involved myself in the graduates’ registration as voters. Besides that, I worked in Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency as in-charge of elections for 40 days,” he said.
