The Ramangaram bypoll was necessitated by Kumaraswamy’s decision to quit the seat after he won from Ramanagaram and neighbouring Channapatna in the May Assembly polls.
The Ramangaram bypoll was necessitated by Kumaraswamy’s decision to quit the seat after he won from Ramanagaram and neighbouring Channapatna in the May Assembly polls.
Karnataka’s JD(S) Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy, is set to be elected with virtually no opposition in the November 3 bypoll from Kumaraswamy’s traditional Assembly constituency of Ramanagaram, as her closest rival from the opposition BJP has decided to join the Congress.
L Chandrashekhar, who recently joined the BJP from the Congress and was the BJP candidate for Ramanagaram, on Thursday announced his return to the Congress - which is in a coalition government with the JD(S) in Karnataka - leaving the field open for Anitha to win the poll.
The Ramangaram bypoll was necessitated by Kumaraswamy’s decision to quit the seat after he won from Ramanagaram and neighbouring Channapatna in the May Assembly polls. Although Anitha was expected to enjoy a cakewalk in the seat - which has been won by Kumaraswamy or his proxies since 2004, and by margins in excess of 20,000 votes — the decision of the BJP candidate to return to the Congress has embarrassed local BJP leaders who were in charge of the campaign.
Announcing his decision to quit the BJP, Chandrashekhar cited lack of support from the party in the campaign. “I had a lot of expectations. I am hurt by the neglect of party leaders who have not campaigned for me like they promised. As a result, I am withdrawing from the fray and will support Congress-JDS candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy,” he said in a statement.
The defection of Chandrashekhar was engineered by D K Suresh, a Congress MP and brother of Congress leader D K Shivakumar, within whose Lok Sabha constituency Ramanagaram is located.
The BJP accused the Congress of luring its candidate with enticements. “He came to the BJP saying he was inspired by PM Narendra Modi, but he has been lured with money. He said he wanted to be the candidate but his Congress mindset did not change. His mindset is that of a traitor,” BJP leader and Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda said.
Sadananda Gowda, who was involved in the BJP’s campaign in Ramanagaram, said several state leaders campaigned for Chandrashekhar. “I went and released plans for the constituency. We tried to prevent Anitha from winning the polls easily, but our candidate fell prey to enticements. We looked after him well, lots of leaders campaigned for him and workers toiled,” he said. “It is true that we are hurt.”
Karnataka’s JD(S) Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy, is set to be elected with virtually no opposition in the November 3 bypoll from Kumaraswamy’s traditional Assembly constituency of Ramanagaram, as her closest rival from the opposition BJP has decided to join the Congress.
L Chandrashekhar, who recently joined the BJP from the Congress and was the BJP candidate for Ramanagaram, on Thursday announced his return to the Congress - which is in a coalition government with the JD(S) in Karnataka - leaving the field open for Anitha to win the poll.
The Ramangaram bypoll was necessitated by Kumaraswamy’s decision to quit the seat after he won from Ramanagaram and neighbouring Channapatna in the May Assembly polls. Although Anitha was expected to enjoy a cakewalk in the seat - which has been won by Kumaraswamy or his proxies since 2004, and by margins in excess of 20,000 votes — the decision of the BJP candidate to return to the Congress has embarrassed local BJP leaders who were in charge of the campaign.
Announcing his decision to quit the BJP, Chandrashekhar cited lack of support from the party in the campaign. “I had a lot of expectations. I am hurt by the neglect of party leaders who have not campaigned for me like they promised. As a result, I am withdrawing from the fray and will support Congress-JDS candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy,” he said in a statement.
The defection of Chandrashekhar was engineered by D K Suresh, a Congress MP and brother of Congress leader D K Shivakumar, within whose Lok Sabha constituency Ramanagaram is located.
The BJP accused the Congress of luring its candidate with enticements. “He came to the BJP saying he was inspired by PM Narendra Modi, but he has been lured with money. He said he wanted to be the candidate but his Congress mindset did not change. His mindset is that of a traitor,” BJP leader and Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda said.
Sadananda Gowda, who was involved in the BJP’s campaign in Ramanagaram, said several state leaders campaigned for Chandrashekhar. “I went and released plans for the constituency. We tried to prevent Anitha from winning the polls easily, but our candidate fell prey to enticements. We looked after him well, lots of leaders campaigned for him and workers toiled,” he said. “It is true that we are hurt.”