BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje, MP, on Saturday said that it had been decided not to field any seers in the Assembly elections. Addressing presspersons here, Ms. Karandlaje said that in the discussions conducted by the party for selecting candidates, the issue of fielding seers had not come up. “Hence, the question of giving party ticket to either Shiroor seer or Rajashekharananda Swami of Vajradehi Mutt, Gurupura, does not arise,” she said. The party would field candidates on the basis of the Statewide surveys conducted by it. “We will give ticket to candidates who can win,” she added. On the Shiroor seer’s statement about corruption in the Udupi district unit of the party and lack of development in the Udupi Assembly constituency during 2004-13, when BJP was representing it, Ms. Karandlaje said she and senior party leaders had talked to the Shiroor seer and he had spoken of some trouble he had with the party at that time. “We have assured him that we will set it right,” she said. Asked if the BJP would face problems if the Shiroor seer contests as an Independent candidate, Ms. Karandlaje said the party’s prospects would not be affected. “In a democracy anybody can contest elections. We are confident of winning the Udupi seat. People would not like to waste their vote on an Independent candidate,” she said. To a question on why the BJP was targeting only the Congress in its election campaign and not the Janata Dal (Secular), she said the Janata Dal (S) was irrelevant in a large number of constituencies; therefore, the criticism against that party was not getting noticed. “There is no deal between the BJP and any other party,” she added. To another query, Ms. Karandlaje said the BJP would field its workers and leaders in the polls. “In districts such as Tumakuru, Kolar, and Mandya, where the party was weak, we may think of candidates from outside our party,” she said.

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