BJP is contesting with 82 new faces this time, whereas Congress is fielding 60-70 fresh candidates for the coming polls.
Political parties are showing faith in fresh candidates for the upcoming elections with Congress and Bhartiya Janta party (BJP) fielding 82 and 60 to 70 candidates respectively.
BJP spokesperson, Suresh N, spokesperson for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that BJP is a party of hard workers. “India has a young population and more than half of the population in India is below 30,” he said. The party was trying to bring the next generation of leaders forward to appeal to the youth of this nation unlike Congress which is fielding a 92-year-old candidate from Davangere constituency this time, he added.
On the other hand, A N Nataraj Gowda, spokesperson for Congress said that the party was giving tickets to the working class irrespective of their ranks.“We are giving tickets to people who we believe in irrespective of their experience, Anoop Iyengar, our candidate from Malleshwaram constituency had been a party worker for a decade now,” he added.
“They are new faces but they are not new to the party culture. They have worked in different roles in the party before and now are given tickets for their work,” he added
Keshavamurthy a corporator before was given a ticket from Mahalaxmi Layout. The party is fielding new candidates from Dasarahalli and Malleshwaram constituencies which are currently under Janata Dal (Secular) JD (S) and BJP Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) respectively. Gowda said that this time, the party was picking a blend of experience and youth who want to serve people.
However, criticizing the BJP’s move, he said that their fresh faces are relatives of already existing party workers.
He further added that the party was aware that not all of these candidates would win but they would certainly get experience. “Usually only 25 to 30 percent of such candidates win the elections and this is not the case with just Congress, it happens across all parties, except Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) which won in Delhi with all fresh faces.”
On the other hand, Suresh said that Congress gave tickets to two types of people; people who had money and people who went to Congress because they were denied tickets by the BJP.
Dr Surendra Kumar, a political science professor said that during elections, fielding new faces has been a major strategy of the BJP. “They have done it in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh and it has worked for them. Now, they are trying it in Karnataka.”
He said that a strong leader would have a strong say in the party which the BJP did not want. “Narendra Modi is the face of the party and they do not want strong leaders. They just want followers who will listen to whatever the central high command says whereas, Congress still has strong leaders and therefore have an advantage over BJP, he said.
He added, “A major reason why political parties field new candidates was that they did not want the voter to pick a candidate based on his past performance.” He added that such faces denied them a chance to choose wisely.
“Though they field new candidates to bring new changes in the party, bringing a candidate from the grassroots level helps parties to connect with people better.” He concluded that a new face brought new hope for a party.
