Shettar’s brother set to enter Council poll fray

By Vittal Shastri | NT

Hubbali:  Sitting MLC Pradeep  Shettar, brother of  former CM Jagadish  Shettar is all set to enter the  Council poll fray from the local bodies constituency. Both national partiesCongress and BJP- have  fielded one candidate each  to ensure their smooth victory during the election.  Srinivas Mane, who had  represented the constituency, got elected from Hangal  Assembly in the by-election  held recently and so Lingayats, Muslims and Scheduled  Caste leaders have held  meetings to mount pressure  on Congress leaders to allot the ticket to a leader of  their community. There are  two seats in the undivided  Dharwad district local bodies constituency which includes Haveri and Gadag.  As many as 7,502 members  from local governing bodies  will exercise their vote.

Source said Jagadish  Shettar has met top BJP  leaders including B.S. Yediyurappa and held a discussion with them about the  allotment of the ticket to his  brother. Pradeep Shettar  has expressed confidence  that his victory will be a  cakewalk this time like the  previous Council polls as  BJP is in power in most local  governing bodies including  Zilla and Taluk Panchayats,  city municipalities and the  Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

“I have started touring  three districts to develop a  good rapport with elected  representatives of local  governing bodies. I am confident of securing more than  4,500 votes this time as most  elected GP members are loyal to the BJP. I have properly  utilized MLC grants for the  development of the constituency in the last six years. I  hope the BJP will announce  the ticket for me in one or  two days”, Pradeep Shettar  told News Trail.

However, there could  be dissatisfaction among  a few local BJP leaders if  Pradeep Shettar is fielded  again. Some BJP leaders are  critical of what they dub as  dynastic politics in the BJP  while disgruntled ticket  aspirants contend that the  party has not recognized  them due to lack of financial  resources as GP members  demand hefty amounts as a  ‘price’ to cast their votes, according to sources. “A candidate is required  to spend Rs 8-10 crores to  win the Council election as  we need money to woo GP  members and other representatives. Therefore, the  party will not consider other  ticket aspirants as they cannot afford so much.’’