BENGALURU: While the office of Union parliamentary affairs minister H N Ananth Kumar has trashed reports that he is suffering from cancer, efforts are on within the BJP to find a replacement for him from the Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency in the forthcoming polls. Kumar has represented the constituency for the past 22 years.Sources say Kumar has requested the party leadership to excuse him from contesting elections next year. He has cited health complications. His office though has said that he is in London, visiting his cousins and will return soon.“Ananth Kumar’s health has been a cause concern for a while now, but nothing has been decided on the BJP candidate for Bengaluru South,” a source close to the minister said, adding: “If he does not want to contest, the party will look for a new candidate. He does not want any of his family members to succeed him.”Bengaluru South has been a BJP stronghold with Kumar winning the seat six times in a row since 1996. The BJP has never lost the seat since 1991 when K Venkatigiri Gowda wrested it from R Gundu Rao of the Congress.The name of Tejaswini, Kumar’s wife, is believed to have cropped up during parleys by national leaders of the party on the issue. However, with Kumar himself ruling out Tejaswini, the BJP leadership is said to be toying with the idea of fielding a Yuva Morcha leader, who is active in the party’s public functions.“It’s too early to talk about candidature for a particular constituency now, but the party high command will scrutinize the performance of sitting MPs before making a decision,” said S Lehar Singh, a senior BJP leader and member of the legislative council. “So don’t be surprised if sitting MPs are denied tickets irrespective of their seniority and the position they now hold.”Kumar’s absence was conspicuous during the Jayanagar assembly byelections in June this year. The seat was won by Congress' Sowmya Reddy, but many in BJP feel the party would have won if Kumar had led the campaign.Should Kumar step aside, the Congress will see it as an opportunity to wrest the seat from the opposition. Barring the 2009 elections when Krishna Byre Gowda was Kumar’s main rival, the Congress has not even been able to pose a serious challenge to BJP.Now, sniffing a chance, the Congress leadership has already begun scouting for a winning candidate.BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy, father of Sowmya, who has been denied a ministerial berth in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government, is a potential candidate.

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