Putting an end to weeks of speculation, the Janata Dal (Secular) on Tuesday, March 26, named its state President and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy as the candidate for the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency where a high voltage poll battle is expected. It also cleared Prajwal Revanna for Hassan seat.
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The party that had hard bargained with the BJP for the Kolar Lok Sabha reserved constituency is yet to name the candidate. Though the defeated candidate in Bangarpet constituency in the recently held Assembly elections Mallesh Babu was the front runner, party sources indicated that discussions are still going on. The names of Mulabagilu legislator Samruddhi Manjunath and former Devanahalli legislator Nisarga Narayanswamy is being considered. The candidate to contest from Kolar will also be announced on Tuesday, sources said.
However, speaking to presspersons in Hassan on Tuesday, JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda declared Mallesh Babu as the candidate for Kolar. He also said Kumaraswamy had to contest because of the pressure from the people of Mandya. “More than Kumaraswamy, it is people of Mandya, who want him to contest from there. Members of the core committee also suggested that he contest,” he said.
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Seat sharing arrangement
In the seat-sharing arrangement arrived at with the NDA ally BJP, JD(S) will contest in three seats and BJP will contest in 25 seats. Though Prajwal Revanna, the sitting Hassan MP and son of former Minister H.D. Revanna, was expected to be announced, there were uneasy times with BJP leaders opposing him.
While the party was divided over Mr. Kumaraswamy contesting Lok Sabha elections, eventually the JD(S) Core Committee cleared his name. Over the last two days, he had been involved in convincing his Channapatna electors and party workers that it had become inevitable for him to contest this election to save the party. Mr. Kumaraswamy, who represents Channapatna constituency in the Assembly, is also the Leader of Janata Dal Legislative Party.
All eyes on Sumalatha
In a high voltage battle during 2019 Parliamentary polls, the former Chief Minister’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy had lost to BJP-backed Independent Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya. Though Ms. Sumalatha had lobbied hard to get the BJP ticket from Mandya, the saffron party allowed its ally to contest from the Vokkaliga heartland in the forthcoming polls. She had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among many other senior BJP leaders, to push her case. Speculations are now rife on the future plans of the actor-turned-politician, who has maintained silence over the last few days.
The core committee that met at the residence of Mr. Kumaraswamy in the city discussed candidates to be named and coordination to be achieved with BJP on ground among others.