Dharmendra Pradhan to be in-charge of Karnataka polls for BJP

The BJP is fighting a tough battle in Karnataka against the Congress and JD(S). The party would bank heavily on the Old Mysuru Region to emerge as the single largest party in the state

New Delhi, Feb 04: The BJP on Saturday appointed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan its in-charge for the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls, a party statement said.
Tamil Nadu BJP unit president K Annamalai will be the co-incharge for the high-stakes polls where both the ruling party and the opposition Congress have launched intensive public outreach for the elections likely to be held in April-May.

Dharmendra Pradhan, a veteran organisation man of the party, has been tasked with handling several elections in the past.

A skillful politician, he will be expected to mobilise the state organisation while sorting out internal issues in the local unit to maximise efforts to retain power in the important southern state, news agency PTI said in a report.

Karnataka Elections 2023: The Karnataka Elections are likely to take place in May this month. There is no official date that has been announced as yet.

The ruling BJP will look to bounce back to power. The party has been eyeing the Old Mysusu Region to ensure that it wins the elections with a full mandate. The BJP has in the past been the single largest party, but has fallen short of the majority ,mark largely due to its poor performance in the Old Mysuru Region,

This year, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah had said that for the party to win big, it needs to perform well in the Old Mysuru Region.

For the BJP there is a huge challenge from the Congress and the Janata Dal (S). Like has been said in the past this is a make or break election for the JD(S). In the 2018 elections, the JD(S) had managed to form the government with the Congress. However several rebels resigned from the Congress and JD(S) to join the BJP.

The BJP ultimately managed to form the government with the help of the rebels.

While B S Yediyurappa remains the top leader for the BJP, the party would be officially fighting the polls on the leadership of Basavaraj Bommai.

The Congress would be lead by Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar while the JD(S) is being spearheaded by former Karnataka Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy. The JD(S) leader is also the son of former prime minister of India, H D Deve Gowda.