Bengaluru (Karnataka): The former Chief Minister, Jagdish Shettar expressed confidence of entering the poll fray from Hubballi- Dharwad Central constituency on a BJP ticket after he met party president J.P. Nadda in New Delhi on Wednesday. Shettar who had expressed his desire to fight the state Assembly elections said that the party will reconsider its decision and that he was confident of securing a ticket.
After returning to Bengaluru from New Delhi, Shettar met senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa. The former Chief Minister had won the Hubballi- Dharwad Central constituency won six times and every time had won the seat with a margin of 25,000 votes or more.
Shettar, a sitting MLA from Hubli-Dharwad Central expressed his displeasure by the way the BJP leadership nudged him to retire from electoral politics. This came after his name did not feature in the two lists released by the BJP of the candidates who will be fighting the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023.
Talking to the media after meeting Yediyurappa, Shettar said, "I have convinced the party high command to reconsider their decision and add my name to list of candidates contesting the elections. Yediyurappa has also requested the high command on my behalf to give me ticket. I am sure of getting a ticket for Hubballi-Dharwad Central Constituency. I met the party president in New Delhi after he called me. I explained the current scenario of the upcoming elections to him."
Earlier, Shettar told the BJP leadership that their decision of not adding his name to the list of candidates contesting the elections was not acceptable to him and urged the party top brass for its reconsideration. The 67-year-old BJP leader said, "I received a message from the seniors in the party that I am senior and a former CM. So, make way for others."
Also read: BJP leadership tells ex-Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar not to contest, he terms decision unacceptable
MLA Goolihatty Shekhar resigns- Several BJP leaders resigned from the BJP's Karnataka unit as they were excluded from the party's candidates list for the upcoming Assembly elections on May 10. Among leaders like Ex-deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, six- time MLA S Angara, and others, MLA of Hosadurga, Goolihatty Shekhar too resigned from primary membership of the party after he was denied a ticked for the state Assembly elections. He went to the office of Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegade Kageri in Sirasi, Uttara Kannada district and submitted his resignation letter.
Speaking to the media, Shekhar said "It is the party's decision to not give me a ticket. Vijayendra, Yediyurappa's son has given tickets to his close friends. Hosdurga is a general constituency and I belong to a scheduled caste. I have decided to contest this election as an independent candidate."
