As the Bharatiya Janata party gets closer to announce nominees to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, it’s incumbent Lok Sabha member representing Mysuru-Kodagu parliamentary seat, Prathap Simha on Tuesday expressed doubts of his re-nomination from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but did not state specific reasons for him to fear denial of ticket to him by BJP Central leadership.
Journalist turned MP, Prathap Simha has represented Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha twice. He first won the seat in 2014 and got re-elected in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, speculations are rife in political circles that BJP would replace Prathap Simha with a new face for the Lok Sabha polls and scion of Mysore Royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar is said to be the frontrunner for Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha seat as a Janata Dal Secular-BJP consensus nominee. It may be noted here that JDS and BJP have an alliance to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka.
Sources in BJP told Deccan Chronicle that Prathap Simha’s inability to take local leaders of his party into confidence and not being on good terms with senior BJP leader B.S. Yediyurappa who is BJP Parliamentary Board member, seem to be the prominent reasons going against Simha’s re-nomination for the 2024 LS polls.
In a video posted by him on his social media handle, Prathap Simha stated that he has left it on Goddess Chamundeshwari to decide on his re-nomination from Mysuru-Kodagu seat while expressing happiness over finding a place in the hearts of the voters who re-elected him from the seat considering his good work for people of Mysuru.
Simha pointed out that since 1989, none of the incumbent MPs got re-elected in Mysuru Lok Sabha elections and reminded the viewers that former scion of Mysore Royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar lost the Mysuru parliamentary election in 1991 and again he was pushed to third place in 2004 election.
Over the accusations that he did not groom leaders in Mysuru, Simha said “The BJP nominees lost Assembly elections in Mysuru district in 2023 owing to their mistakes and negligent attitude.” Adding, he said, “When I won in 2014, there were 13 BJP corporators in Mysore City Corporation and now there are 23 corporators and that credit should come to me.”
In his recording, he highlighted that he strived hard to develop Mysuru and introduced 13 trains to the place during his tenure as an MP, the Mysuru-Bengaluru National Highway upgradation, outer peripheral ring road, among many others and appreciated that he was groomed by then Mysuru district in-charge Minister V. Somanna.
