Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (DC)
Kundapur, Apr 21: A group of BJP leaders who are said to be against the party candidate Halady Srinivas Shetty reportedly held a secret meeting on Saturday April 21 at the residence of Kundapur BJP leader B Kishore Kumar.
Except for a few BJP leaders no one had an entry to the meeting. It is learnt that BJP senior leader A G Kodgi, former MP Jayaprakash Hegde, MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary and Rajesh Kaveri were present during the meeting.
The secret meeting has given rise to speculations within the party and it is learnt that the leaders are planning to field an independent candidate in the Kundapur constituency against Shetty. An official announcement will be made by the leaders, sources said.
Though information regarding the meeting is still a secret, the leaders have clearly expressed their displeasure over selection of Halady Srinivas as the BJP candidate from Kundapur.
It is yet to be revealed as to who will be the independent candidate in Kundapur. BJP senior leader and former MLA A G Kodgi who was present at the meet once had differences of opinion with Shetty. However, the issue got resolved after Shetty met Kodgi and photos of the two meeting was also widely circulated on social media.
But the recent developments within the BJP when few days are left to file nominations have worried the party.
It is yet to be known why MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary participated in the secret meeting. Sources say that Poojary met the leaders to pacify them and not to take any decision against the party.
It may be recalled that soon after BJP announced Halady Srinivas Shetty as the official candidate in first list, six BJP leaders had tendered their resignation. They had supported J P Hegde's candidature, but he was not given the ticket. The BJP maintained that the candidate would not be changed.