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Last Updated: April 11, 2023, 19:56 IST
Jagadish Shettar said that he has told the party leadership that it was not acceptable to him. (File photo/News18)
Shettar, a 67-year-old sitting MLA from Hubli-Dharwad Central, said he has requested the BJP high command to give him an opportunity to contest as he has never lost a single poll
As the ruling BJP is all set to announce its first list of more than 175 candidates for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, former state chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday said he has been asked by the party central leadership not to contest the polls “to make way for others”.
Shettar, a 67-year-old sitting MLA from Hubli-Dharwad Central, said he has requested the BJP high command to give him an opportunity to contest as he has never lost a single poll.
Stating that he was “hurt” by the decision, Shettar said that he has told the party leadership that it was not acceptable to him. “I received a message from the seniors in the party that I am senior and a former chief minister. So, make way for others. If they had told me two to three months ago, then it would have been respectable for me. When the nomination is just two days away (to begin), I am definitely hurt. I have told them that I will contest the election. Whatever you have said is not acceptable to me. So, please reconsider your decision and give me an opportunity to contest the election again,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Asserting that he has worked hard for 30 years to build the BJP in the north Karnataka region, Shettar said he got elected to the assembly six times and every time had won the seat with a margin of 25,000 votes or more.
Shettar, a former BJP state unit president and Assembly Speaker, claimed, “I questioned them why I should not contest the election. What are my minus points? In the survey, which they have done in all the constituencies, according to the information I got, a positive response has come — almost 70 per cent positive response and public opinion is there (in my favour).”
Meanwhile, the BJP will soon announce its first list after a final discussion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah once he returns to Delhi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Tuesday after a meeting with party president JP Nadda at the latter’s residence in the national capital.
Bommai told reporters, “Today we had a final meeting. Probably, the home minister will have an internal meeting with national leaders after reaching Delhi. They will announce the first list soon.” Two lists of candidates will be announced. In the first list, more than 175 candidates will be cleared, he added.
(with inputs from PTI)
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