Karnataka assembly election 2023: JDS second list to be released on Friday

After multiple delays in the release of JDS second list, the party Legislature leader HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday said the second list of candidates for the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls, including for the contentious Hassan seat, will be finalised on April 7. He expressed confidence about resolving the Hassan seat issue, stating that there are no problems.

''Pancharatna Yatre will travel about 105 km in villages across Periyapatna today. I will be visiting about 90 villages there, it will be late by the time I come back. After I'm back tomorrow, we will finalise the seats,'' Kumaraswamy said.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "Will decide including Hassan seat, there are no problems."

Kumaraswamy had earlier said that the party will release the second list by Thursday and that list will have the name of the candidate for Hassan. According to party sources, the second list was getting delayed mainly because of issues regarding Hassan ticket. They said, party patriarch H D Deve Gowda, who was in Delhi, was to hold a meeting with sons Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna, and take a final call.

The task of finalising the JDS candidate for the Hassan constituency hasn't been a smooth affair for the party since the party leaders MLA H D Revanna is lobbying for a ticket to his wife Bhavani while the other camp, led by his younger son and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, is backing H.P. Swaroop, son of former MLA late H.S. Prakash.

The difference of opinion between the two brothers led to utter confusion among the party workers, hence the decision to field a neutral candidate. Both Kumaraswamy and Revanna have maintained that Gowda's word will be final on the Hassan ticket issue.

The importance of Hassan constituency is that it is the home district of Deve Gowda. In the 2018 polls, the party had won in six out of seven segments. However, it lost the Hassan seat to BJP's Preetham Gowda, making it the first ever win for the saffron party in the Vokkaliga-dominated district.

JDS announced the first list of 93 candidates in December last year.