Former Karnataka Chief Minister and six-time MLA Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday expressed his disappointment over reportedly being denied his ticket, saying he will contest “at any cost”, reported The Indian Express.
Speaking at a press conference, Shettar on Tuesday evening said, that the party high command asked to not contest the elections at the last minute, adding that he has already started campaigning.
The BJP released its first list comprising the names of 189 candidates for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday. Voting in the southern state will take place on May 10, and counting will take place on May 13.
“I am totally disappointed. I have worked for the party for more than 30 years and have built it. They could have intimated me 2-3 months ago and I would have accepted it. But with a few days before filing the nominations, I have been intimated to not contest. I have already started campaigning in the constituency,” Shettar said.
He added that he has asked the party to reconsider the decision.
“After they asked me not to contest, I have conveyed that I will contest at any cost and have asked them to reconsider. I have asked if there is an anti-incumbency wave or whether there are any allegations. I am confident they will consider my request,” he said.
The Hubballi-Dharwad MLA said that he received a call from the high command on Tuesday, and accused the BJP saying that his loyalty towards his party has “turned into a problem”.
“The survey of the Assembly constituency has also suggested that the BJP has a winning wave. I don’t have a black mark in politics. I have been loyal to the party and I feel that the loyalty has turned into a problem,” Shettar, a close aide of former CM BS Yediyurappa, said.
Shettar became the state’s CM when the state BJP was mired in the mining controversy, and replaced D V Sadananda Gowda.
For nearly two decades, Shettar and Union minister Pralhad Joshi have had a strong hold over the politics in Hubballi-Dharwad district.