Joshi Hatao, BJP Bachao' campaign trending on Facebook

Hubballi: Loyalists of three-time former BJP MLA from Kundagol S.I. Chikkangoudar have launched a Facebook campaign with the slogan, ‘Joshi Hatao, BJP Bachao’, against senior party leader and Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi. 

The daughter of the former legislator, Nanda Hiregoudar, too has  joined the campaign against ‘injustice’ caused to her father during the previous Assembly election. 

They contended that the BJP leader has failed to initiate action against local office-bearers of the party for engaging in anti-party activity that led to the defeat of the former legislator by a very slender margin of 634 votes. 

They also complained that Joshi has been seen with these office-bearers in several functions and had maintained good relations with them instead of suspending them from the party. Such a campaign may pose a major hurdle to Joshi's victory prospects in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

Chikkangoudar is a close confidante of State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa and had joined KJP before returning to the party fold along with the BJP leader. But, he lost the previous Assembly election though he had secured around 64,000 votes. 

Therefore, his daughter claimed that several local leaders of the party had hatched a conspiracy to defeat him by seeking votes in favor of Congress candidate and former chief minister Siddaramaiah's loyalist C.S. Shivalli who won the election. 

“We had worked hard by touring 48 villages during the previous election as people of the constituency wanted to see my father elected MLA for a fourth term. But, he lost the election by a very small margin due to anti-party activities of 8-9 office-bearers of Kundagol BJP unit. Party leaders including Pralhad Joshi have been neglecting us despite our pleas to initiate action against them as they were appointed by the MP. Therefore, we have launched a Facebook campaign to create awareness among voters who had voted for my father,” Nanda Hiregoudar said.