‘JDS will contest from Mandya, Hassan and Kolar in Lok Sabha polls’: HD Kumaraswamy announces

Former Karnataka CM and Janata Dal (Secular) second-in-chief said that the BJP has allotted three seats to his party for upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In an emotional speech in Karnataka’s Hassan, Kumaraswamy urged people to save JDS by voting for it.

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He said, “The JDS will contest from Mandya, Hassan and Kolar in Lok Sabha polls. The BJP leaders have allotted these three seats with immense confidence in us. I tried to get another two or three seats, but I did my best. It is now in your hands to save the party by giving your vote to JDS.” However, Bharatiya Janata Party, the alliance partner of the JDS is yet to announce the list of BJP-JDS candidates that are going to contest in 28 Lok Sabha seats of Karnataka.

There has been speculation that Kumaraswamy might contest from the old Mysuru region’s Mandya seat. Still, he cited health reasons earlier and said that he does not have the physical strength to participate in elections. Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, contested from Mandya in 2019 and lost to Sumalatha Ambareesh, who contested independently.

Meanwhile, Sumalatha Ambareesh, recently met PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi and said that they will ‘continue to work together,’ hinting that she will not back off from the Mandya seat.

In Hassan, Kumaraswamy’s brother HD Revanna is likely to contest on a JDS ticket, but it has not been officially announced.

BJP dropped the names of many sitting MPs that is out. Bengaluru North MP Sadananda Gowda has already announced his retirement from electoral politics even before the list is out. Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha, who is also unlikely to get the ticket, said that he will support the party, regardless of his ticket.