BJP may drop Ananthkumar Hedge and Pratap Simha, field Bommai in second list: Sources

The BJP is likely to drop Ananthkumar Hedge from Karnataka's Uttara Kannada constituency amid a row over his remarks on changing the Constitution of India, sources told India Today on Tuesday. Hedge recently said that the NDA needs 400 seats in Lok Sabha elections to make certain changes in the Constitution. The saffron party, however, distanced itself from his remarks, saying in a tweet that his views "do not reflect the party's stance".

The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) held its second meeting on Monday to decide on the second list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in April-May. As many as 99 seats of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Chandigarh, were discussed.

Sources said that former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai may be fielded from the Haveri-Gadag seat. Besides Hedge, many other leaders are likely to be dropped from Karnataka. Among the MPs who may be dropped are Pratap Simha from Mysuru, former Union Minister GM Siddeshwara from Davangere, Yarabasi Devendrappa from Bellary, Karadi Sanganna Amarappa from Koppal, and ex-state BJP President and Mangaluru MP Nalin Kumar Kateel.
 
Union Minister Shoba Karandlaje, currently the Udupi Chikmangalore MP, is likely to be moved to the Bangalore North seat. Sources said that some party leaders have written to BJP National President JP Nadda, asking him not to give her a ticket.

During Monday's meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders went through a list of probable choices who could make it to the final list. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda have held a series of meetings with leaders of various states to prepare a list of probables before the CEC takes a final call.

Earlier this month, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates, which included several heavyweights such as PM Modi from Varanasi, Amit Shah from Gujarat's Gandhinagar, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from Bhopal's Guna, and former MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha. 

(With inputs from Poulomi Saha and Himanshu Mishra)