The MPs of Chamarajanagar, Tumkur, Haveri and Bengaluru North had been told well in advance that they would not be given tickets to contest the 2024 parliamentary polls, while V.Srinivasaprasad, G.M.Siddeshwar and Devendrappa had cried off from a re-election, citing old age.

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But, as reported here, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, a member of the Mysore royal family, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Pujari and noted cardiologist Dr Manjunath have all been given tickets in the coming Lok Sabha polls.

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Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje has been moved from Udupi -Chikmagalur constituency to Bengaluru North and Gayatri Siddeshwar, wife of the sitting Davangere MP, G. M . Siddeshwar has been a given ticket to contest from where her husband had been elected.

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The BJP high command has given a huge rap on the knuckles to Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha for his attitude problems. So also the sitting Dakshina Kannada MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel who was unceremoniously dropped for his inept handling of the incidents that occurred after the brutal murder of a Bajrang Dal activist which became the cause for Hindu voters to revolt against Kateel. As the then State BJP President, Kateel was forced to hide from an angry mob inside a car. The party ticket has gone to a relative unknown, Capt Brijesh Chowta.

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Meanwhile, candidates for Mandya, Chikballapur, Hassan have not yet been announced due to seat sharing talks with the alliance partner, Janata Dal Secular. It is likely to be out within the next few days.

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Riding on the party’s abiding respect for the royal family, the BJP high command had given a ticket to Yaduveer despite Simha’s attempts to thwart the move.

As expected, noted cardiologist Dr C.N.Manjunath had been given the ticket to contest from Bengaluru Rural against the sitting Congress MP D.K.Suresh. Dr Manjunath, son-in-law of the former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda, had shown interest to join politics after his retirement from the post of director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology and Vascular Sciences, Bengaluru recently. The BJP is banking on the popularity of this ‘poor man's doctor'.

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Former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who was reluctant to contest the Lok Sabha election, had been asked to contest from Haveri seat as the sitting MP Shivakumar Udasi had let it be known well in advance that he planned to retire from electoral politics. Bommai was seen as the natural successor to Udasi in the Gadag-Haveri seat.

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The party has denied a ticket to the sitting MP of Koppal, Karadi Sanganna and given that ticket to Basavaraj Kyavatur. Similarly, in a huge surprise, the sitting MP of Ballari, Devendrappa has been dropped to give ticket to former minister B.Sriramulu who had lost in the 2023 Assembly polls in Ballari City constituency against B.Nagendra. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi meanwhile has succeeded in getting a ticket to seek re-election from Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency for a record fourth time.