Sadananda Gowda Quits Electoral Politics: Will Sumalatha Get Bangalore North Lok Sabha Ticket?

Former Karnataka Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Wednesday announced that he was bidding goodbye to electoral politics. Thus vacating Bangalore North constituency which he had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Speaking to reporters in Hassan, Sadananda Gowda said that he has reaped the maximum benefits from the party and has no further aspirations.

"I have decided not to continue in electoral politics. In my 30 years of political career, the party has given me everything. I served as an MLA for 10 years, 20 years as MP, one year as a Chief Minister, over 4 years as state party president and cabinet minister for seven years in Narendra Modi government. If I aspire for more, I would be called a selfish," News9 quoted Gowda as saying.

The senior BJP leader was the Chief Minister of Karnataka after BS Yediyurappa was forced to step down owing to corruption allegations in 2011.

In 2014, he was briefly made the Union Minister for Railways. Later, he served as the Union Minister for Law and Justice and then Union Minister for Statistics and Program Implementation.

Who Will Now Contest From Bangalore North?
For some months now, there have been rumours that Sadananda Gowda might not get the ticket to BJP contest the election in 2024. With the JDS and the BJP forming an alliance, the speculations became stronger that he might be overlooked by the high command.

It was because Mandya MP Sumalatha might be given a ticket to contest from the Bangalore North constituency. In the previous elections, she had contested as an independent candidate from Mandya and the BJP had extended its support to her.

However, JDS has set its eyes on Hassan, Mandya, Kolar, Tumakkuru, Chikballapur, and Bangalore Rural to contest in the next Lok Sabha polls.

What Sumalatha Says?
On the other hand, the Mandya MP has said that she is unwilling to shift to another constituency.

Speaking to reporters recently, she said, "I have said it hundreds of times that I don't contest from other BJP-JDS may have formed an alliance, but ticket distribution is yet to happen," she claimed.