  We report on the results of an image-based search for pulsar candidates
toward the Galactic bulge. We used mosaic images from the MeerKAT radio
telescope, that were taken as part of a 173 deg**2 survey of the bulge and
Galactic center of our Galaxy at L band (856-1712 MHz) in all four Stokes I, Q,
U and V. The image root-mean-square noise levels of 12-17 uJy/ba represent a
significant increase in sensitivity over past image-based pulsar searches. Our
primary search criterion was circular polarization, but we used other criteria
including linear polarization, in-band spectral index, compactness, variability
and multi-wavelength counterparts to select pulsar candidates. We first
demonstrate the efficacy of this technique by searching for polarized emission
from known pulsars, and comparing our results with measurements from the
literature. Our search resulted in a sample of 75 polarized pulsar candidates.
Bright stars or young stellar objects were associated with 28 of these sources,
including a small sample of highly polarized dwarf stars with pulsar-like steep
spectra. Comparing the properties of this sample with the known pulsars, we
identified 30 compelling candidates for pulsation follow-up, including two
sources with both strong circular and linear polarization. The remaining 17
sources are either pulsars or stars, but we cannot rule out an extragalactic
origin or image artifacts among the brighter, flat spectrum objects.
