JD(S) gives tickets to ‘first family’ in first list of 93 candidates

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: JD(S) on Monday released the names of 93 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly election, due in May 2023. The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and JD(S) legislature party president HD Kumaraswamy has in the past said that the party would contest from “at least 150 seats.”

All 32 incumbent MLAs from the party will be contesting their seats again, party sources said. The candidates’ list includes contestants from all regions of Karnataka, from Khanapur in Belagavi in north Karnataka to Hanur in Chamarajanagar district of the old Mysuru region to Raichur in HyderabadKarnataka.

Kumaraswamy, former prime minister and JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda and the party’s state president CM Ibrahim made the announcement, taking a break from the Pancharatna Rath Yatra for the morning. HD Kumaraswamy will contest from Channapatna where he won in 2018, and his son Nikhil will contest from Ramanagara.

He contested the Mandya parliamentary seat in 2019 and lost to the BJP-backed independent Sumalatha Ambareesh. JD(S) also rewarded disgruntled incumbent MLA and giant slayer GT Devegowda who had defeated Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari constituency by over 36,000 votes in 2018.

He will not only be getting a ticket from the same seat, but his son, Harish Gowda will fight from Hunsur. ‘Need to identify good candidates in some seats’ JD(S) Hubballi-Dharwad president Gururaj Hunasimarad said that he was a hopeful from Hubballi Dharwad West constituency, where BJP’s Arvind Bellad is the incumbent. A JD(S) candidate has not been finalised for the seat. He added that the party will finalise the remainder of the list once they identify suitable candidates.

“Wherever we were strong, we have announced candidates. Where we are competing against two or three other formidable contestants, we may have to tread carefully and announce candidates a little late after examination,” he said. “In some places, we don’t have proper candidates. They are looking for good candidates from those seats,” he added.

“They have finalised it for some people. They have retained all the sitting MLAs. Other seats are still being thought of. This work will take time,” he said. “Some 32 are incumbent. Their tickets were fixed. Another 35 finished second. These nearly 70 candidates have been given tickets. The rest are new. (Naseer Bapulsaab) Bagwan finished second last time. He has been retained, for example,” he added