BJP releases names of 72 candidates for upcoming Karnataka polls

The names of the candidates were announced by senior party leader and Union Minister J P Nadda following the BJP'S Central Election Committee meeting at party headquarters in New Delhi late evening. 

Chief ministerial candidate B. S. Yeddyurappa will contest from Shikaripura constituency while veteran state leaders Jagadish Shettar and K S Eswarappa will contest from Hubli Dharwad Central and Shimoga.

The BJP has also fielded its Lok Sabha MP B Sriramulu in the polls Central Election Committee was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and other senior party leaders, including Rajnath Singh to finalise the candidates for the polls.

The meeting, official sources said, delineated on probable candidates for over 140 seats and the names of remaining candidates are likely to be announced soon. The elections to the 225-seat assembly are scheduled for May 12.

Meanwhile, ahead of the elections, a 6-time MLA and OBC leader Malikayya Guttedar has joined BJP. Mr BS Yeddyurappa and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar made the announcement



at a press conference, which was also attended by Guttedar. 

An MLA from Afzalpur in Gulbarga district, Guttedar was recently expelled from the Congress after reports appeared that he may leave the party and join BJP. 

After the announcement of the first list of candidates by BJP and JD(S) for the forthcoming assembly election, Congress too is likely to announce its candidates soon. AICC President Rahul Gandhi addressed a public rally in Bengaluru yesterday, thereby concluding the Janashirwad yatra that was begun by the Congress as part of election campaign. 

He informed about the programmes taken up by his party for the development of Bengaluru city. JD(S) State President H D Kumaraswamy addressing a press conference yesterday alleged that the Congress Government in the state took loans amounting to lakhs of crores rupees but has nothing to show for development. 

He said Government claims to have spent 58000 crore rupees for irrigation, but water has not flown to farmers fields.