Bengaluru: JD(S) State President H D Kumaraswamy has said that the party would release its first list of 105 candidates for the 2018 Legislative Assembly elections in the first week of February during a mammoth convention to be held either in Bengaluru or Hubballi.

HDK, while stating that all sitting legislators of the party will be given tickets to contest in the upcoming polls, added that only the eight rebel MLAs who faced suspension for having voted against the party candidate during the Rajya?Sabha elections last year will be kept out. He also mentioned that the party’s disciplinary committee is considering the pardon sought by one of the suspended legislators K?Gopalaiah for violating the whip.

He said candidates are being selected based on their rapport with the electorate, on how they should respond to the problems faced by the people, among others. Training programmes will also be conducted for potential candidates on how to face the polls and the election campaign, he added. The names will be finalised only after the approval of the core-committee.

The party is currently in consultation with local party functionaries for the purpose of finalizing candidates for the Nanjangud and Gundluplet Assembly constituencies, byelections for which are likely to be announced soon, he said