JP’s Gujarat model flops in Karnataka: Only 14 of 75 new faces win polls

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: The BJP High Command’s experiment of giving tickets to new faces in the election has miserably failed. Of the 75 new faces who got tickets, only 14 have won the election.

In the process, the party lost many important leaders like former CM Jagadish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Lakshman Savadi who joined the Congress Party and contested on the Hand symbol. While Shettar lost the Hubballi-Dharwad seat, Savadi won from Athani in Belagavi district.

The high command imposed retirement from electoral politics on several winnable candidates like Shettar, K.S.Eshwarappa, and S.A.Ramdas in a bid to introduce new faces as was done in Gujarat and UP where the idea clicked because of the fact that opposition parties have been very weak unlike in Karnataka. A majority of sitting BJP MLAs bowed to the high command’s decision but Shettar rebelled and joined the Congress a few days before the election.

According to hsources, the idea of bringing new faces was of BJP National Organising Secretary B.L.Santosh. Sources say Delhi leaders did not consult state leaders before experimenting with the Gujarat model. Even Karnataka leaders lacked guts to tell Delhi leaders not to indulge in such an experiment at this juncture as retaining power was a must.