Palace to politics: Mysuru royal family scion to contest on BJP ticket; two sitting Bengaluru MPs retained

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar (YKC)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 13 released the names of 20 candidates in Karnataka for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, which included an interesting pick.

Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar (YKC), the titular head of the Mysore royal family, was chosen to replace two-term sitting MP Pratap Simha.

He’s not the first in his family to step into politics. His predecessor Srikantadatta Narasimharaja (SDNR) Wadiyar contested elections in both Congress and BJP tickets between 1984 and 2004. He won four times (all Congress) and lost twice (one each from Congress and BJP)

YKC was adopted by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar a little over a year after her husband SDNR died in 2013. YKC, an economics graduate from the University of Massachusetts was crowned the new ‘maharaja’ of the 600-year-old Wadiyar dynasty, in 2015 at the age of 23.

According to sources, the BJP has been reaching out to the royal family in an attempt to persuade YKC to contest elections on a BJP ticket. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the royal family on multiple occasions in Mysuru, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also visited them in the run-up to the assembly elections last year.

Sources said that the party tried to push for YKC's candidature through his father-in-law and BJP leader from Rajasthan, Harshavardhan Singh of the Dungarpur royal family.

BJP considers YKC to be an influential candidate who holds the potential to tip the scales in favour of the party in the Mysuru region, traditionally a stronghold of the Congress and also the home district of CM Siddaramaiah.

The Mysore royal family enjoys respect in Karnataka's cultural capital and their home, Mysuru, for their contributions to education, irrigation, and other developments.

Simha, whom YKC replaced as BJP’s pick, has major infrastructure projects such as the introduction of 13 trains, Mysuru-Bengaluru expressway, and others among his achievements.

Anticipating that he may be denied a ticket, Simha broke down during a Facebook live on Monday recalling his career as a journalist-turned-politician. Simha vowed to remain loyal to the BJP and said he expects the royal family to withdraw decades-old court cases against the state government should YKC be elected.

Simha made headlines in December 2023 after a Parliament security breach. Two intruders jumped from the visitor’s gallery, raised slogans, and opened smoke canisters. The MP’s signature was found on their visitor passes. However, Simha denied knowing them.

BJP candidates in Bengaluru

In Bengaluru, BJP retained two of its sitting MPs: Tejasvi Surya (Bengaluru South) and PC Mohan (Bengaluru Central). However, the party denied a ticket to sitting MP DV Sadananda Gowda in Bengaluru North.

While the names of Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar were doing rounds for Bengaluru South, a traditional BJP stronghold, 33-year-old BJP youth leader Surya managed to retain his ticket. This is Surya's second election. Surya's uncle, LA Ravi Subramanya, a three-time MLA from the Basavanagudi constituency, falls under the same Lok Sabha segment.

Also, read: BJP replaces nine incumbent MPs in its first list of LS candidates in Karnataka

In Bengaluru North, BJP replaced sitting MP Gowda, former Chief Minister and Union minister who held major portfolios in the Modi regime. He stepped down from his post as Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers ahead of the cabinet reshuffle in July 2021. The party has instead nominated Shobha Karandlaje for Bengaluru North. Karandlaje, a close confidant of senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, represented Udupi-Chikmagaluru in the 2014 and 2019 elections. However, she faced opposition from workers against her candidature.

Interestingly, Dr CN Manjunath is BJP's candidate from Bengaluru Rural. Manjunath is the son-in-law of JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and the brother-in-law of Kumaraswamy.

Manjunath retired as the director of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in February this year. He will face DK Suresh, the lone Congress MP from Karnataka who won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Suresh, a third-time MP, is the brother of Deputy CM and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar.

Meanwhile,  BJP dropped former Karnataka party president, Nalin Kumar Kateel, from the Dakshina Kannada constituency. While the BJP will contest 25 of the 28 seats in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, its coalition partner JD(S) will contest three constituencies: Hassan, Mandya, and Kolar.

Other BJP candidates

Basavaraj Bommai, former Karnataka Chief Minister is contesting from Haveri; Union minister Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad; PC Gaddigoudar in Bagalkot; Ramesh Jigajinagi in Bijapur; Umesh G Jadhav in Gulbarga; Bhagwanth Khuba in Bidar; Annasaheb Shankar Jolle in Chikkodi; Basavaraj Kyavator in Koppal; B Sriramulu in Bellari; Gayathri Siddeshwara from Davanagere; BY Raghavendra from Shivamogga; Kota Srinivas Poojary from Udupi Chikmagalur; Capt. Brijesh Chowta from Dakshina Kannada; and V Somanna from Tumakuru, along with S Balaraj from Chamarajanagar. Out of a total of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, the BJP had won 25 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Congress is yet to announce candidates for three Bengaluru LS segments

While the Congress has announced DK Suresh for Bengaluru Rural, it is yet to announce candidates for Bengaluru South, Central, and North segments.

In Bengaluru South, Sowmya Reddy, former Jayanagar MLA and daughter of Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, is a frontrunner. Sowmya Reddy lost the 2023 assembly polls by a narrow margin of 16 votes. Ramalinga Reddy had alleged that BJP leaders, including Surya, influenced officials after his daughter, Sowmya, was initially declared the winner of the seat by the Election Commission of India.

For Bengaluru North, the party is considering State Institute for the Transformation of Karnataka (SITK) vice-chairperson M V Rajeev Gowda. In Bengaluru Central, BDA chairperson N A Haris, his son Karnataka Youth Congress president Mohammed Haris Nalapad, and AICC secretary Mansoor Ali Khan are frontrunners.

Also, read: Deve Gowda's son-in-law makes political debut as BJP candidate, to take on Congress's D K Suresh