Karnataka Polls 2023: BJP Likely To Name Candidates For 12 Seats Today, Ex-CM Shettar's Fate Hangs In Balance

Karnataka Election 2023: With the BJP likely to release its third list today, ex-CM and Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar is hoping to get a ticket for his incumbent seat Hubli-Dharwad (Central).

While BJP candidates have started filing their nominations for the Karnataka Assembly Election 2023, the party is yet to release the names of contestants for 12 constituencies. Among these 12 constituencies is Hubli-Dharwad (Central), the seat currently held by former CM and BJP's Lingayat heavyweight Jagadish Shettar. The third list of the BJP is likely to be released on Friday.

The suspense around six-time MLA Shettar's candidature continued even on Thursday, with no word of confirmation on the contestant from the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) seat. The BJP has so far released the names of 212 candidates. The third list would be crucial for the saffron party which is already facing defections and protests for dropping old faces and accommodating Congress turncoats. Among the leaders who were denied tickets were MP Kumaraswamy, CM Nimbannavar, Madal Virupakshappa, Sukumar Shetty, N. Linganna, SA Ravindranath, and Neharu Olekar.

Earlier, BJP leader BS Yediyurappa said that Shettar is almost certain to get a ticket. Earlier, the BJP said that six-time MLA Shettar would not be getting another shot at being an MLA. Miffed at the BJP's announcement, Shettar said that the decision was not acceptable to him and he would contest the elections come what may. This was before the second list was released. However, when the BJP named 23 contestants in its second list, Shettar found his name missing.

The election process formally kicked off on Thursday after the Election Commission issued the gazette notification. This meant that candidates could now file their nomination papers. According to the Election Commission (EC), 27 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates, 26 Congress, 12 Janata Dal(S), 10 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and one from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) filed their nominations so far, reported news agency PTI. As many as 100 nominations from unrecognised parties and 45 independents were also received.

The last date for filing nominations is April 20. The voting will be held on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.