Ashok Kheny: Chief Minister, Jagdish Shettar told me not to contest

Bidar: Bidar South MLA and Kannada Makkala Paksha president, Ashok Kheny, claims he would have won by over two lakh votes had he contested from  Bidar these elections, but gave in to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP leader, Jagadish Shettar's  persuasion and stayed away. He spoke of this and more in an interview with Deccan Chronicle. Excerpts:

Why did you not contest from Bidar ?
I did a survey which showed I would have won by over two lakh votes but Mr Siddaramaiah  told me Mr Kheny you are doing an excellent job as a legislator  and  I will help you develop  Bidar South into a model constituency.  Mr Shettar too spoke to me saying when you have ample opportunity to develop places like Basavakalyan in the district, what will you do in Delhi? So I decided not to contest.

You also wanted to contest from Hassan, but you did not, why?
I wanted to contest from Hassan to see democracy in action. What usually happens in Hassan is that after filing nominations against Mr H D Deve Gowda, the candidates enter into a compromise with him and retire from the fray. This time when I wanted to contest, Congress candidate Manju told me he would not withdraw  against Mr Gowda and he has been true to his word.

You were not to be seen at all these elections. There are rumours that your followers worked for the Congress.

I was here and cast my vote in my village. I kept away from the constituency as I was not contesting . I don't want to get into who supported whom because my primary concern is  development of my constituency. For me who wins is not as important as what work gets done.

Your brother, Sanjay Kheny joined the Congress during the elections. Do you also want to join the party?
My brother needed the help of the Congress to run his cooperative sugar factory. You know the government has fixed a MSP of Rs 2650 per tonne of cane, but these factories cannot afford more than Rs 1650.  So he will get help from the government by way of subsidy.

Will this move of your brother not weaken your position?
In Bidar some Khandres are in Congress, others in BJP.  So true to the tradition of Bidar, I'm in KMP and my brother in Congress.

There are rumours  you are not accessible to people.

It's true to some extent. I think the job of a legislator is to bring funds and carry out development, not roam around villages, attending jathras. I was after international agencies to get funding and soon Bidar will have a stadium of international standards for IPL matches. I am getting Rs 24 crore from corporate bodies for drinking water and solar lighting  in 121 villages. Could I do all this if I attended every wedding or griha pravesh ceremony?