Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, reiterated his optimism that the dissidence will be resolved in two days, amid new accusations of corruption surfacing from the candidates who were denied party tickets.
Responding to one such accusation by Nehru Olekar, a BJP MLA seeking candidature from Haveri who accused the top leadership of stealing Rs. 1,500 crore from a drip irrigation project, Bommai told reporters in Shiggaon on Saturday that the MLA must provide proof for the accusations, as Olekar himself was proven guilty in the case already.
This accusation came a day after he was left out of the party's candidates' list. "The effort to install drip irrigation has miserably failed. None of the farmers in the Shiggaon constituency received a pipe. As per records, the district's farmers got nothing out of the endeavour," Nehru Olekar said.
The chief minister claimed that that issue will be addressed in a few days by the high command and that he would be spending the entire day in the district. "The Central Election Committee would decide on the third list of candidates for the other constituencies within two days," Bommai added.
On Convincing Jagadish Shettar
Bommai also expressed hope that issue with former CM Jagadish Shettar's deadline to the high command to decide on his candidature has been discussed with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Stating that Shettar is a member of the Sangh Parivar family and has always supported the BJP, he said, "He is absolutely essential to the region of North Karnataka. To keep Shettar in the party at all costs, discussions have been held with J.P. Nadda. We are confident that he will remain in the BJP."
The CM also refuted accusations that he was behind Shettar to miss the ticket. "An honest effort is being made to keep Shettar in the party. We're are really close, despite what hundreds of people have claimed," Bommai stated.
