Former MLC Nagaraj Chabbi, who was denied a Congress ticket to contest the upcoming assembly election from Kalaghatagi, joined the BJP on Sunday in New Delhi in the presence of state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. It is unclear whether he was guaranteed a BJP ticket to run in the assembly election from the Kalaghatgi constituency.
According to reports, giving the ticket to former Minister Santosh Lad had disappointed supporters of former MLC Nagaraj Chabbi, who is said to be a KPCC chief loyalist. Former Minister Vinay Kulkarni's nomination in Dharwad has sparked outrage among Muslim leaders who wanted Ismail Tamatgar as their candidate.
The Congress is under fire for granting tickets to those who have defected from other parties. Another factor fueling the rebellion is the alleged distribution of the ticket among loyalists of former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar.
After releasing the first list of 124 candidates, the party was able to quell the rebellion. However, the selection of 42 candidates on the second list has sparked outrage in a number of constituencies. Candidates in Chitradurga, Gangavati, Kadur, Dharwad, Gokak, Holalkere, Tumakuru City, Madikeri, Kalghatagi, Channagiri, Tirthahalli, Bilagi, Belur, Molakalmuru, Rajajinagar, and other constituencies have openly revolted. Many devoted party members have spoken out against giving tickets to "imported" leaders.
Former Chitradurga legislator SK Basavarajan was also upset after KC Veerendra, who left the JD (S) and joined the Congress, was given the ticket. Yogesh Babu, a defeated candidate in the 2018 elections, strongly opposed the nomination of NY Gopalakrishna, who switched from the BJP to the Congress.
Loyalists of YSV Datta, former JD (S) MLA, who joined the Congress expecting the ticket, had a lot of heartburn in Kadur. Datta called a meeting of his supporters on Sunday to discuss his next steps after being denied a ticket, The Hindu reported citing sources.