Karnataka assembly elections: Jagadish Shettar blames BL Santhosh; BJP defends ticket-denial decision

HUBBALLI/BENGALURU: A day after joining the Congress, former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday held BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh responsible for his exit from the party and alleged he is set to destroy the Karnataka unit.
Shettar, nominated by Congress on Tuesday to contest from his borough Hubballi-Dharwad Central, alleged that Mahesh Tenginakai, who got a BJP ticket, is a manasputra (son-like) of Santhosh.
"To ensure a ticket to his blue-eyed boy, Santhosh denied me a ticket," he said.
“When there was a possibility of winning with the maximum number of votes, the question emerged as to why the ticket was denied. The root cause was the person called Santhoshji and his aide (Tenginkai),” the former CM said.
While Santhosh was not available for reaction, BJP, ledby its chief JP Nadda, trashed Shettar’s allegation and said the decision to deny him a ticket was made after due deliberations. Shettar, who ended three-decade ties with BJP, said the party was losing its leaders and is not sure whether it wants to return to power.
Conspiracy to finish off BJP in K’taka, says Shettar
There is a conspiracy to finish off the BJP in the state. Even BS Yediyurappa is helpless. There is suffocation in all district offices,” Shettar claimed. He said CM Basavaraj Bommai and Union minister Pralhad Joshi have not made “honest efforts” to ensure he got a ticket. Stating that Santhosh has many ‘manasputras’, Shettar said: “If the party wanted to honour Tenginkai, it could have made him an MLC or given him an important post. Why target senior leaders? BJP says an individual is not important. But one individual has become important, and that person has kept everything under his control.”
He said Santhosh was put in charge of elections in other states, but nowhere did the BJP perform well. “Hewas given the charge of Kerala, and the party did not even win a single seat. He also got assignments in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where the party’s performance was subpar. A person who failed in these states is giving advice to the party’s top two leaders (read Narendra Modi and Amit Shah),” Shettar added.
BJP national president JP Nadda, who arrived in Hubballi, defended themove to deny a ticket to Shettar. “We work in a democratic manner, and we weigh many factors before taking a decision,” he said.
“I don’t agree with Shettar’s statement blaming Santhosh. We are confident we will win more than 150 seats,” former CM BS Yediyurappa said.
Tenginakai said he got the ticket for being a loyal worker and not because he is close to Santhosh.