Channapatna bypoll: Karnataka BJP leaders meet Nadda to lobby for Yogeshwar

New Delhi: BJP state leaders on Friday met party national president J P Nadda and requested him to field former minister C P Yogeshwar as the BJP candidate from Channapatna Assembly segment.

The leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashoka, former minister Aswathnarayana, MLA Arvind Bellad and B L Santosh met Nadda.

In the meeting, the party state leaders learnt to have said that fielding Yogeshwar from this segment would help the BJP to win the seat.

However, sources said that the party top leaders did not give any assurance to state leaders and conveyed that they will take a call once the calendar of events for the Assembly segment announced by the Election Commission.

The state leaders on Thursday held a meeting with JD(S) leader and Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy here and requested him to leave the seat to the BJP. Kumaraswamy without giving any assurance on that said he would discuss with party local leaders before taking any decision.

Channapatna, which was represented by H D Kumaraswamy, fell vacant after he won from Mandya Lok Sabha seat in the last general elections. Kumaraswamy is reportedly planning to field his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy from the seat in the bypoll.

The Election Commission is yet to announce calendar of events for the bypolls in the country. Apart from Channapatna, other two Assembly segments in the state, Shiggaon and Sandur, will also have bypolls.

Speaking to reporters, Ashoka said the state leaders conveyed the party top brass that our main aim will be the NDA candidates victory in all the three Assembly segments bypolls.

He also said that it was up to the party leaders of both the BJP and alliance partner JD(S) to decide on the candidate.