The names of four incumbent MPs of the BJP, who have been denied re-nomination by the party, feature in the list of 40 star campaigners released for Karnataka by the party. Among the prominent names missing from the list are the former BJP Minister K.S. Eshwarappa and six-time MP for Uttara Kannada Anantkumar Hegde.
The list, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was released on Saturday.
Yatnal, Preetam Gowda in list
Union Minister and MP for Chitradurga A. Narayanswamy, Bengaluru North MP and former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Dakshin Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, and Mysuru MP Prathap Simha, all of whom have been denied the ticket to contest, are in the list of star campaigners. Another senior leader and Vijayapura MLA Basannagouda Patil Yatnal, who has been critical about developments in the party and airing his views publicly, and the former MLA for Hassan Preetham Gowda, who has expressed his views against the party’s tie-up with the Janata Dal (Secular), are also in the list.
Mr. Eshwarappa has announced his contest from Shivamogga as an Independent after his son K.E. Kantesh was denied the ticket from Haveri while Mr. Hegde is learnt to be upset with the denial of ticket.
Besides Mr. Modi, BJP president J.P.Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh, S. Jaishankar, Smriti Irani, and Nitin Gadkari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanatha, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sharma, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and former Karnataka Chief Ministers B.S. Yediyurappa, Basavaraj Bommai, and Jagadish Shettar are part of the list.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is contesting from Thiruvananthapuram, has been named among the 27 members for the BJP’s election manifesto committee, representing Karnataka.
‘Thank you Modi’ campaign
A 40-day ‘Thank you Modi’ campaign in Karnataka was launched by the BJP to highlight the contribution of the Narendra Modi-led government to Karnataka. “The campaign will identify one or two programmes of the Modi government that benefitted Karnataka, and videos would be made to introduce them to the public,” BJP general secretary V. Suneel Kumar said, releasing the first of the videos on smoke-free kitchen.
Amit Shah to visit State
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will kickstart his election campaign in Karnataka on April 2 from Channapatna where a roadshow of leaders of both BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) has been planned.
According to Mr. Suneel Kumar, Mr. Shah will be taking part in party programmes, including conventions of Shakti Kendra volunteers from Bengaluru North, South, Central, and Rural constituencies along with Chickballapur at the Palace Ground here. Later, he will be interacting with leaders from Chickballapur, Tumakuru, Davangere, and Chitradurga constituencies. He said: “Election campaigning will gather pace with Mr. Shah’s arrival in the State.”
