Dropping sitting MPs, retaining old horses: Decoding BJP's Karnataka plan for Lok Sabha 2024 polls

The second list of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidates for Lok Sabha 2024 polls, released on March 13, had 20 names from Karnataka, the state that sends 28 seats to the lower house. 

The saffron party has dropped nine members of parliament (MPs) from the state where it won 25 of the 28 seats in the.

Among the prominent leaders who have been dropped include four-time MP and former Chief Minister from Bangalore North, former state BJP unit Chief Nalin Kumar Kateel from Dakshina Kannada and from Mysuru.

Gowda, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka who announced retirement from electoral politics in November, has been replaced by Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje. Simha, whose name cropped up in the Parliament security breach row last year, has been replaced by a Wadiyar of the Mysore royal family.

Kateel has been replaced by the BJP state secretary and ex-serviceman, Captian Brijesh Chowta (retd). The BJP has won the (erstwhile Mangaluru) for eight consecutive terms since 1996. Kateel won the seat for the third time in the 2019 Lok Sabha election with a margin of 2.74 lakh votes.

Some other MPs who have been dropped are GS Basavaraju from Tumkur, Karadi Sanganna Amarappa from Koppal, Y Devendrappa from Bellary, and V Srinivas Prasad from Chamarajanagara.

The leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, Kota Srinivas Poojary, has been fielded from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat. He will replace the incumbent and Union Minister, Shobha Karandlaje, who has been fielded from Bengaluru North.

New faces apart, the party has retained some old horses. The retained MPs include Annasaheb Jolle from Chikkodi, P C Gaddigoudar from Bagalkot, Ramesh Jigajinagi from Bijapur, Umesh Jadhav from Gulbarga,