New Delhi: Every time an election is announced, political parties face a problem of plenty as there are multiple contenders from some constituencies. Only one ticket can be given for every seat, hence some candidates are bound to be left out.
One such snubbed candidate was Anantkumar Hegde. But what makes Anantkumar’s axing apparently surprising is that he was a six-time BJP MP from Karnataka.
Anantkumar won the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat six times in the last 28 years, including four back-to-back victories (2004, 2009, 2009, 2014).
The 55-year-old Anantkumar should have been an automatic choice, but many feel that his remarks on the BJP’s 400-seat target (iss bar char sau par) for the 2024 elections queered the pitch for him.
Known for controversial speeches, Anantkumar raised a political storm earlier this month when he quipped that BJP’s 400 Lok Sabha seat claim is aimed at changing the Constitution.
Accusing the Congress of changing the Constitution to “oppress Hindus”, Anantkumar said that there is a need to “rewrite” the Constitution.
“If the Constitution has to be amended — after the Congress fundamentally distorted the Constitution by forcefully filling unnecessary things in it, especially by bringing in laws that were aimed at suppressing the Hindu society — if all of this has to be changed, it is not possible with this (current) majority,” Anantkumar said.
“If we think it can be done as Congress is not there in Lok Sabha and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi has two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha, and keep quiet, it is not possible,” he said, adding that the saffron party needs a two-third majority in Rajya Sabha as well as the states.
BJP distanced itself from Anantkumar’s comments as the Opposition slammed his words.
By replacing Anantkumar with Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, a six-time MLA, BJP made it clear that it doesn’t want to encourage leaders known for hate speeches and controversial remarks
