The BJP has dropped a poster boy of Hindutva in Karnataka, Anantkumar Hegde, and has given

a fresh lease of life to two losing candidates from the Karnataka Assembly polls of 2023,
including former CM Jagadish Shettar who left the party in 2023, in its list of four candidates
from the state announced on Sunday night.
The BJP has announced the candidature of former minister K Sudhakar for the Chikkaballapur
seat. Sudhakar lost the Assembly polls in 2023 but is considered to have deep pockets and the ear
of a section of the BJP national leadership. The BJP has retained its MP Raja Amareshwar Naik,
for the Raichur (ST-reserved) seat.
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ahead of Lok Sabha polls
The BJP, which won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in 2019, earlier announced a first
list of 20 candidates, with nine changes of candidates. The BJP is in an alliance with the Janata
Dal (Secular) in Karnataka and is expected to leave the three constituencies of Mandya, Hassan,
and Kolar vacant for the JD(S) to field its candidates. The party has yet to announce a candidate
for Chitradurga, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates.