Karnataka elections 2023: BJP veteran and former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who was unhappy after his name didn't appear in party's first list of 189 candidates, met saffron party chief JP Nadda on Wednesday and conveyed his wish to contest the May 10 assembly polls.
Shettar on Tuesday openly expressed his unhappiness over reports that he may be denied the ticket.
After meeting Nadda, Shettar told reporters that he cited his experience, including his six wins in assembly polls, and was told by the party president that the issue will be discussed with other senior leaders.
The development is a clear indication that the BJP will field the veteran leader from the Lingayat community after initially toying with the idea to drop him as part of its plans to nudge senior leaders to make way for a younger leadership.
Union minister Pralhad Joshi accompanied Shettar in the meeting with Nadda after the BJP leadership called him to the national capital.
On Tuesday, the BJP declared its first list of 189 candidates for the polls. The list included 52 new faces.
At least nine legislators, including ministers Angara (Sullia constituency) and Anand Singh (Vijayanagara), have not been fielded for the May 10 polls. Filing of nominations for the May 10 elections begins on April 13 and will continue till April 20.
The BJP aims to retain power in the southern state by winning a majority in the 224-seat assembly.
Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday expressed that he's not happy with the party's decision of not giving him the ticket to contest in the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
"My popularity is good even in the survey. I've not lost a single election. There is no reason to deny my ticket, so I have requested the party high command to give me an opportunity to contest," Jagadish Shettar said.
Jagdish Shettar said that he's been associated with the party for over 30 years, had been a chief minister, if the party didn't want to give him the ticket then they should have informed him earlier.
"I want to contest the election, if they didn't want to give me the ticket, then he should have been informed earlier," he said.
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