Old warhorse A Manju targets newbie Prajwal Revanna

Hassan: A politician in the old mould,  A. Manju of the BJP is making the most of  his rival, Prawal Revanna’s youth  and inexperience to run him down in Hassan this Lok Sabha poll, calling him a  “boy” in his campaign in the constituency.

Having unsuccessfully contested the 2014 LS poll against JD(S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda as a Congress candidate, Mr Manju is now up against his grandson, Prajwal,  this time as a BJP candidate, having switched sides on the eve of the poll.

Harping on his JD(S) rival’s youth, he tells people that the 28- year- old lacks the political experience to raise their concerns in parliament.”When his grandfather could not  highlight the problems of  Hassan, how can a boy be expected to raise them in  Parliament?” he asks, adding for good measure that had  Prajwal gained experience climbing the ladder from the Zilla Panchayat to the assembly before attempting to enter the  Lok Sabha, things would have been different.

But  Prajwal, who is PWD minister, H D Revanna’s son, is getting his own back,   accusing Mr Manju of doing nothing worthwhile during his stint as minister. “What was Manju’s contribution to Hassan when he was a Minister?” he asks voters, promising to meet their expectations if elected. “If elected I can show the voters what I can deliver,” he asserts.

And although Mr Manju claims that a majority of the Congress workers of Hassan are backing him, being upset with the party for giving the constituency to the JD(S), a confident Prajwal declares that he has the support of all Congress workers in the constituency and expects to score a victory over Manju, whatever he may say.