Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 27: BJP, which is in pursuit of the ambitious target of winning 150 out of 224 seats in the coming assembly election, is now drawing up plans to corner 75 seats from north Karnataka. Party sources say that as part of this strategy, the party has finalized Terdal in Bagalkot district as the constituency from which BJP state president, B S Yeddyurappa, would be fielded.

At the same time, there is information that Yeddyurappa is in a fix as the voters in Shikaripur constituency want him to fight the election from there once again. At the same time, he cannot overlook the advice of the national leaders of the party.

State BJP leaders - File photo

While there was pressure from both Bagalkot and Vijayapura districts to Yeddyurappa to fight election from there, Yeddyurappa's district of liking is Bagalkot. Therefore, discussions are on about fielding him from either Terdal or Beelagi. While sources say that Terdal has been finalized as his constituency, Yeddyruappa has not opened up his mind on this aspect in public so far.

North Karnataka has 96 constituencies of which 56 are located in Mumbai Karnataka and the remaining 40 in Hyderabad Karnataka region. BJP had bagged maximum number seats from north Karnataka but Congress edged past BJP by a big margin in 2013 election because of split in BJP. It is felt that fielding Yeddyyrappa from this area will have positive influence on votes of Lingayat and backward classes and his presende will also have positive impact on the chances of other candidates. BJP hopes to win several constituencies which it had lost by a margin of less than 5,000 votes.

BJP candidate, Siddu Savadi, had won from Terdal in 2008 but he had to concede defeat to Congress candidate and current minister, Umashree in 2013. Siddu is popular in the region and it i said that he is agreeable to take the post of MLC in exchange for sacrificing his constituency.

If the current policy of the BJP to keep away people older than 75 from electoral politics is strictly followed, this will be the last election Yeddyrappa would be facing. Yeddyurappa is not in a mood to desert Shikaripur constituency which he has repeatedly won since 1983 except once, because this is the last chance for him to remain faithful to this constituency. But at the core committee meeting held in Prakash Javadekar's residence at Delhi, it is said that the party bigwigs again told Yeddyurpapa to fight election from north Karnataka.