'No campaign till party says why Surya was picked'

The dissent within BJP over the selection of Bangalore South candidate continues with the constituency MLAs raising questions one after another. On Wednesday, Govindarajanagar MLA V Somanna sought to know how Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, a frontrunner, had missed the ticket at the last moment.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Tejaswini at her residence, Somanna said that the whole episode was unfortunate. He also said that campaigning for the party candidate Tejasvi Surya, will only be taken up after discussions are held on how Tejaswini missed the ticket.

Blaming Basavanagudi MLA LA Ravi Subramanya for his role in the issue, he said while one of his relatives was a corporator, his nephew had now got the Lok Sabha ticket. "We want clarity on why this is so," he said.

"I have told Ravi Subramanya the same when he had contacted me. I want to know the truth behind Tejaswini missing the ticket," he said, adding that the MLAs of the Lok Sabha seat cannot be "taken for granted" (while selecting a candidate) as it is a question of our future.

He said that a meeting with senior BJP leaders of the State will be held in the next three days, following which there will be clarity on the high command's decision.

Meanwhile, BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa said there was no disgruntlement in the party over the selection of Tejasvi Surya as the candidate. "There is no question of dissent within the party. Even Tejaswini has accepted the decision. Everyone will work together to ensure our candidates victory," he said.