In a jolt to the saffron party, L Chandrashekhar, the BJP candidate contesting the by-election to the Ramanagara Assembly constituency on Thursday announced his decision to quit the fray against Anita Kumaraswamy, wife of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. The election will be held on Saturday and the sudden decision of Chandrashekhar who had joined the party a month ago now announced his support to Anita Kumaraswamy of the JD(S)-Congress nominee.
At a Press conference in Bengaluru, Chandrashekhar blamed the BJP leaders for his decision and their non cooperation. He said, “He has decided to come back to his mother party Congress and also extend his support to Anita Kumaraswamy.” “BJP leaders had abandoned me and did not come to campaign for me”, he added.
He said "After welcoming me to the BJP by giving party flag, Yeddyurappa (State BJP chief) or any other leaders did not join me for campaigning. They neglected Ramanagara due to internal squabble between the leaders within the party."
With this, Anita Kumaraswamy will have a smooth passage to the power of corridor in the Saturday’s bypoll as there is no contest against her. By-election to Ramanagara was necessitated as it fell vacant after Kumaraswamy gave up the seat preferring Chennapatna, the other seat he had won in the May Assembly polls. By-polls for three Lok Sabha constituencies — Shivamogga, Ballari and Mandya and two assembly constituencies, Ramanagara and Jamkhandi, will take place on November 3. The counting of votes would be on November 6.
BJP State chief BS Yeddyurappa directly blamed Minister DK Shivakumar and his brother an MP DK Suresh and alleged that the candidate was bought by them.
He said in Shivamogga “ Shivakumar and brother (D K Suresh) have brought (him) back, by giving money. I got the information just now. God bless them."
The BJP recently had poached Chandrashekhar, son of a senior Congress leader C M Lingappa, and the Congress had decided to support the candidate of its ruling coalition partner, JD(S). Within days after joining the BJP, he was announced as the party's candidate. The BJP workers who campaigned for him protested against his decision. Ramangara is famous for production of silk and has world’s biggest cocoon market. The town is also known as Sholay nagara after the film Sholay was shot there.
The bypolls are a litmus test for the coalition partners JD(S) and the Congress. The snap of Ramanagara candidate is very well managed and orchestrated ploy by DK Shivakumar and his brother DK Suresh. At Shivamogga bypoll for the Lok Sabha, Yeddyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra is fighting a crucial battle against combined candidate Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S). At Ballari the mining dust has clouded again and BJP’s J Shantha sister of J Sruramulu is fighting Ugrappa of the congress supported by the JD(S).