Even though the BJP’s central leadership and the erstwhile royal family of Mysore had successfully managed to keep the move to field Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency under wraps for a long time, the reasons behind denial of the BJP ticket to sitting MP Pratap Simha too have remained opaque.
While Mr. Simha, who had campaigned hard for renomination for a third time in a row, has been maintaining that he was also unaware of the grounds, few in the party have not been able to give reasons for the party leadership’s decision to deny renomination to the sitting MP, who had even brought out a booklet on his contributions to the constituency during the last ten years.
Just like the party, in a surprise move ten years ago, shifted former MP C.H. Vijayshankar from Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency to Hassan Lok Sabha constituency to accommodate Mr. Pratap Simha as its candidate in Mysuru, no reasons are cited for replacement of Mr. Simha with Mr. Yaduveer.
Sources in the party and political observers, however, cite as plausible reasons not only the uneasy relationship Mr. Simha had with several local BJP leaders of Mysuru, but also his lack of interest in campaigning for the party’s candidates in different elections held in the region, opposition to Mahisha Dasara celebrations as well as his role in issuing visitor passes to two youth, who jumped onto tables of Lok Sabha from the gallery and released smoke canisters, causing a security lapse.
Mr. Simha’s differences with former MLAs S.A. Ramdas and L. Nagendra over various issues had come out in the open. Many party workers in Mysuru were reportedly opposed to Mr. Simha’s style of functioning and feared that the same would impact the outcome of elections. His strong opposition to celebration of Mahisha Dasara too had irked a section of Dalits in Mysuru.
During the assembly elections held in 2023, Mr. Simha was found lacking in campaigning for the party candidates in assembly segments falling under Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency. While the MP was busy campaigning for V. Somanna, the BJP candidate in Varuna assembly segment, which is not part of Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency, the party lost the seats held in Madikeri, Virajpet, and Chamaraja assembly segment.
Mr. Pratap Simha’s role in issuing visitor passes to Manoranjan, a youth from Mysuru, and his friend Sagar Sharma, too came under scrutiny and drew flak after the youths caused a security scare in the Parliament during December 2023 by jumping onto the tables of the Lok Sabha from the visitors’ gallery and burst smoke canisters.
