Karnataka: Many BJP leaders may not get ticket for Lok Sabha

In Karnataka,the BJP is in election mode and reportedly has prepared a list of leaders who woukd be denied ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.According to sources in the list some mames of some heavyweight leaders are included.Former state party president and former Union ministers are likely to not get fielded by the BJP in the 2024 polls.Former Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde is likely to be dropped from the Uttara Kannada seat. He has served as an MP six times. During his last tenure, he made comments against the Constitution and had to apologise in Parliament. Former Union Minister Sadananda Gowda, who is an MP from Bangalore North, might also not receive a ticket.
MPs from Bellary, Bijapur, and Kolar might also not receive tickets, according to internal discussions within the BJP. Former BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel, who has been a three-time MP from Dakshina Kannada, might not receive a ticket this time. He has been internally blamed for the loss in the Karnataka polls last year. Sources daid that there are chances new faces are looking to get the party ticket. The BJP's candidate-selection process will also depend on its seat-sharing decision with alliance partner JD(S).

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The Custodian of Enemy Property for India (CEPI} visited Bengaluru to survey and to  take possession of the immovable assets in Karnataka, left behind by people who have taken the citizenship of Pakistan and China. There are 24 enemy properties in the State of which six are in Bengaluru.Under the Enemy Property Act 1968, which came into being after the Indo-China and Indo-Pak wars in 1962 and 1965, the CEPI is the owner of assets that are declared as ‘enemy property’. There are 9,406 such properties across the country, said to be worth a staggering Rs 1 lakh crore, belonging
to people who migrated to Pakistan and China following the wars.The CEPI wants to take possession of these properties, though it may give the state government the first chance to lease them for public purposes. As per information, the CEPI representatives from Mumbai regional office came to the city to assess the “position” of these properties.A majority of the 24 enemy properties, situated in districts Bengaluru Urban, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Udupi and others, are occupied by private persons. “When we inspected the properties, we found people running businesses such as petrol pumps and hotels on the plots declared as enemy properties,” Dayananda K A, deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district said.
In Bengaluru, the six enemy properties — totalling close to 1.5 lakh square feet and valued atleast Rs 500 crore — are situated in Raj Bhavan Road, Vittal Mallya Road and Victoria Road. Of the four individuals who owned these properties, three left for Pakistan and one took the citizenship of China after the wars between India and these two countries. In March last year, the Centre started the process of eviction and sale of enemy properties across the country and the deputy commissioners have been given the powers to evict the occupants of enemy properties before initiating the process of auctioning them. 

(Dr Mysi Patil, State Correspondent)