Bengaluru: During its massive membership campaign, the state BJP has been trying to induct prominent leaders of JD(S) and Independent candidates who lost narrowly in the 2013 Assembly elections.
The party has already announced that it would induct former MLC and the Muslim face of the JD(S) Abdul Azeem and former MLA of Haliyal constituency Sunil Hegde on November 6. Sunil Hegde’s father V.D. Hegde will also join BJP. Both father and son had worked for BJP during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Sources in the state BJP told this newspaper that independent candidate H. Yogaramesha, who secured the third highest votes in Arkalgud constituency in the 2013 elections may also be inducted.
Mr. Yogaramesha had secured 32,477 votes followed by A. Manju and A.T. Ramaswamy who contested on theCongress and JD(S) ticket respectively.
These leaders may emerge as potential candiates of the BJP in the 2018 Assembly elections, said sources.
Several second rung leaders of JD(S) in North Karnataka are interested in joining BJP as the JD(S) leadership has failed to organize the party in North Karnataka, said a senior functionary in the BJP.
A few month back, BJP had inducted JD(S) leaders Subhash Guttedar and Vijayagowda Patil.
“Before inducting other party leaders into BJP, we have been seeking the opinion of district BJP leaders, after seeking their opinion we will place the matter before the party state core committee’, said former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.
