Karnataka elections: Party hoppers, reformed don on JD(S) second list of candidates

BENGALURU: After a gap of over five months, the JD(S) on Friday announced its second list of official candidates for 58 more seats at the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections.
Having struggled to find candidates due to dearth of big names to contest the elections and also due to dissidence within and outside the family of party supremo HD Deve Gowda, the second JD(S) list has several party hoppers from the BJP and the Congress for the May 12 hustings.

Prominent among the names who have been propped up as JD(S) candidates are reformed underworld don Jedrahalli Krishnappa from Rajajinagar and dissident BJP business man Hemachandra Sagar.

While Krishnappa will be contesting against incumbent three-time MLA S Suresh Kumar from the BJP and former Bengaluru mayor G Padmavathi, Sagar will be up against a tough opposition of sitting Congress MLA R V Devaraj and BJP official candidate and real estate magnet Uday Garudachar.

Krishnappa, after having reformed himself, had joined Congress during the 2013 and prior to that was also said to be associated with the erstwhile Karnataka Janatha Paksha (KJP) of present BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa.

However, having been sidelined primarily due to his checkered past, Krishnappa quit the Congress and maintained a low key presence in the political circles.

On Friday, Krishnappa was given his first “opportunity” by the JD(S) to contest at the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, former Chikpet BJP MLA Sagar was vying for a ticket after a gap of 10 years to return to active politics. Having won in 2008, Sagar decided to stay away at the 2013 elections. As a result, despite his close proximity to the BJP, the party also decided to not field his name at this year’s elections. Miffed with this, Sagar decided to join JD(S) earlier this month and has been immediately accorded a ticket by the party.

In another major boost to the JD(S), former two time MLA from BJP Prakash Khandre has been nominated from Bhalki. Khandre had lost to his relative and current Bhalki Congress MLA and municipal administration minister Eshwar Khandre.

The BJP denied the ticket to Prakash Khandre and fielded D K Siddrama.

The list has also confirmed the second candidature of party president H D Kumaraswamy from Channapatna and that of former Congressman Altaf Khan from Chamrajpet. Altaf is scheduled to contest against ex-JD(S) and current Congress candidate B Z Zameer Ahmad Khan.