Bengaluru: With less than a month to go for the by-polls to Basavakalyan and Maski Assembly segments and Belagavi Lok Sabha seat, ruling BJP is yet to finalise its candidates. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) last week had announced the by-poll schedule for two Assembly segments and one Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka, according to which the polling will take place on Apr. 17 and the results will be announced on May 2. Tirupati Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh too will go to the by-polls on Apr. 17.

However, the ECI did not issue the poll schedule for Sindhgi Assembly segment in Vijayapura district, which too has fallen vacant following the demise of  M.C. Managuli of the JD(S) in January this year.

In a bid to select its candidates for the by-polls, the BJP held a Core Committee meeting in Bengaluru yesterday, during which it was reportedly decided to field State BJP Vice-President B.Y. Vijayendra, son of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, from Basavakalyan Assembly seat in Bidar district, Pratap Gouda Patil from Maski Assembly segment in Raichur district and Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar from Belagavi Lok Sabha seat. Notably, Shettar, who is also a former Chief Minister, is the in-law of the late Union Minister Suresh Angadi.

The Belagavi Lok Sabha seat had fallen vacant following the demise of Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi in September last, while Basavakalyan Assembly segment fell vacant following the death of Congress MLA  B. Narayan Rao last year and Maski Assembly constituency due to the resignation of the then Congress MLA Pratap Gouda Patil, who switched over to the BJP in 2019.

Speaking to press persons after the Core Committee meeting, BJP National General Secretary C.T. Ravi said that the State BJP Chief will send the list of probable candidates to the party’s Central Election Committee, for scrutiny.

The BJP High Command, after discussing the merits of the candidates, will finalise the candidate for each seat, which is going to happen in a couple of days, he said and expressed confidence that the party will win all the three seats, which go to the by-polls on Apr. 17.