BM Mallikarjuna, also known as ‘Fighter Ravi,’ resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday. In the run-up to the Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was accused of socialising with rowdy-sheeters. However, ‘Silent’ Sunil and ‘Fighter’ Ravi, who brought the party a lot of flak, did not get the ticket, prompting Sunil supporters to protest in front of the BJP office in Bengaluru. Manikantha Rathod, another rowdy-sheeter, has been given the ticket to run against Congress leader Priyank Kharge in the Chittapur constituency.
Karnataka | BM Mallikarjuna also known as ‘Fighter Ravi’ resigns from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party pic.twitter.com/9onIEfj4k1
— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023
Rathod is charged in over 30 criminal cases reported in the districts of Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, and Bidar, involving serious crimes such as attempted murder, illegal transportation of Anna Bhagya rice, narcotics smuggling, illegal possession of firearms, and criminal intimidation.
On November 13, last year, he was arrested for threatening Kharge with murder and later released on bail. He had openly stated his willingness to shoot down Kharge during a press conference at the time. Given the criminal charges filed against Rathod, Police Commissioner Y.S. Ravikumar issued an order barring him from Kalaburagi for a year in September. Rathod, on the other hand, has obtained a stay order from the court.
EX-CM Jagadish Shettar Says Denying Him Ticket will Have A Bearing On 20-25 Seats
Former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar has said that denying him a ticket to the Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency for the Assembly polls will affect at least 20 to 25 seats, despite the fact that Union Minister Pralhad Joshi met him here on Saturday and assured him that the party would make an appropriate decision on his candidature.
Shettar is the sitting MLA from Hubli-Dharwad Central, and the BJP high command had earlier this week asked him to withdraw his candidature for the election, which irritated the former CM.
The BJP has yet to release the list of candidates for Hubli-Dharwad Central, one of the 12 constituencies. As 16 Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation councillors offered to tender their resignation with BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel today, the senior leader said he was grateful to them for showing their affection towards him.