The BJP in Karnataka, which is the strongest state unit of the party in south India, will be keen to better their tally of 17 seats that they won in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. While they had missed out on forming the government despite being the single largest party after the May 2018 assembly elections, things will get tougher as there seems to be a semblance of unity between the Congress and JD(S).
The party has decided to take on the Congress-JD(S) alliance candidate in 27 out of the 28 seats, except in Mandya where it is backing Sumalatha, the widow of late rebel star Ambareesh. She is battling against Nikhil K, the son of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Karnataka will go to the polls on April 18 for the first phase and on April 23 for the second phase.
Here is the full list of BJP candidates constituency-wise:
Bengaluru Central
PC Mohan, who has held the constituency since its formation in 2009, is aiming for a hattrick of wins for his party and himself. A two-time former MLA, Mohan faces Rizwan Arshad of the Congress, with the support of the JD(S).
Bengaluru North
Incumbent MP, sitting minister in the union cabinet and formerly a chief minister, DV Sadanada Gowda won with a comfortable margin of over 1 lakh votes last time. This time, he is pitted in a high profile clash against Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka minister and a two-time MLA from a segment in the same constituency.
Bengaluru South
Tejasvi Surya is one of the youngest potential Lok Sabha MPs at 28. The RSS leader will succeed his mentor and six-time MP, late Ananth Kumar from the same constituency. He faces Rajya Sabha MP, BK Hariprasad of the Congress.
Bengaluru Rural
Ashwath Narayana Gowda is a BJP leader from Mandya region. He is a former MLC and a spokesperson for the party and is considered as one of the party's influential faces in the Vokkaliga belt. The party was to field him in Mandya, before it decided to back Sumalatha. He faces sitting MP, DK Suresh, brother of Congress’ troubleshooter DK Shivakumar.
Chikkaballapur
BN Bachegowda is a former minister in the state and has been an MLA from Hoskote. He is up against former CM and Union Minister M Veerappa Moily from the Congress stronghold once again. He is a preferred choice of the BJP as he is from the dominant Vokkaliga caste.
Kolar
Perhaps the most surprising choice in the entire list, S Muniswamy is a BBMP corporator from Kadugodi ward. He will be facing seven-time MP, KH Muniyappa. He was also the mayoral candidate for the BJP in the elections that took place in early 2019.
Tumakuru
GS Basavaraj is the choice of candidate for the saffron party in Tumakuru. He is a three-time MP and belongs to the Lingayat caste and is known to be a BS Yeddyurappa loyalist. He is up against former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda in a prestige battle. His son GB Jyotiganesh became an MLA after the 2018 Assembly polls.
Mysuru-Kodagu
Sitting MP and a journalist-turned politician, Pratap Simha had won from the Mysuru-Kodagu seat riding on the Modi wave in 2014. But this time, he will face a united front of JD(S) and Congress in the form of CH Vijay Shankar, a former BJP MP from the same seat.
Chamarajanagar
Srinivas Prasad, a five-time MP and a minister in Vajpayee’s cabinet will face sitting MP, R Dhruva Narayana of the Congress. He had joined the Congress in between and was even part of the Siddaramaiah government. He later quit the party after he was dropped from the cabinet in a reshuffle.
Hassan
A Manju, a former state minister who was with the Congress until recently, will be up against the grandson of HD Deve Gowda in the Gowda fiefdom. Having lost his assembly seat in the last election, he has an uphill task of pulling off an upset from here.
Udupi-Chikmagalur
One of the few dominant women leaders in the state, Shobha Karandlaje had won her first Lok Sabha elections from the seat in 2014 after having a successful career in state politics. She is known to be close to BS Yeddyurappa. She faces former Fisheries Minister Pramod Madhwaraj contesting on a JD(S) ticket.
Chikkodi
Anna Saheb Jolie is the BJP candidate from this seat and he is the husband of sitting MLA, Shashikala from the same segment. He will be up against incumbent Prakash Hukkeri of the Congress. He had recently lost the Assembly elections from Chikkodi-Sadalga segment in 2018.
Belgaum
The BJP has chosen incumbent and three-time MP, Suresh Chanabasappa Angadi as its candidate, who will face Virupakshi S Sadhunavar from the Congress. Once known to be a Congress fortress, Angadi who won the seat three times in a row since 2004.
Bidar
Another incumbent Bhagwanth Khuba of the BJP will seek re-election from the same seat. He will be up against Eshwar Khandre of the Congress, who is not only a multiple-time MLA and party’s working president but also a prominent Lingayat face.
Haveri
In Haveri, it is again an incumbent Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi. After winning two consecutive terms from the same seat, he will face DR Pail of the Congress. A second generation politician known to be close to Sriramulu, he is believed to be the right hand man of tainted mining baron Janardhana Reddy.
Dharwad
A veteran BJP man, Prahlad Joshi will be keen on winning the seat again for the fourth time since 2004. He faces his old rival from the Congress in Vinay Kulkarni. A seasoned politician, Joshi has also been the state president of the party.
Ballari
The party has gone with Devendrappa from Ballari, a relative of rebel Congress leader Ramesh Jarkiholi. This, after a shock defeat handed by Congress’ Ugrappa in the bye-poll. The BJP wants to ensure the Valmiki Kayak votes by fielding him. Congress rebels, Nagendra and Ramesh Jarkiholi, are helping BJP.
Uttara Kannada
An RSS member from his youth, Ananth Kumar Hegde stormed onto the political scene defeating veteran Margaret Alva from the seat when he was 27. Now, he is seeking election for the sixth straight time. He is also the Minister of State for Skill Development.
Dakshina Kannada
MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel will seek re-election for the third time. A BJP bastion, Kateel will defend the seat for the fourth time against a young Congress candidate in the form of Mithun Rai. He is a strong proponent of Hindutva and has been accused by his opponents of propagating communal speeches.
Davanagere
GM Siddeshwara, a former Union Minister and son of late BJP MP, G Mallikarjunappa, is contesting from here. He is incidentally the son-in-law of Congress veteran Shamanur Shivshnkarappa, the president of the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha. He will be up against Congress Davangere district president HB Manjappa.
Shivamogga
BY Raghavendra will contest from the seat as he had won the bye-election after his father BS Yeddyurappa resigned from the seat. He will face the same opponent from the JD(S)-- Madhu Bangarappa, who is the son of former CM Sarekoppa Bangarappa. Raghavendra will be keen to improve his margin this time in the battle of the sons of two CMs.
