Bypolls, beginning of end for Congress: Srinivasprasad

Mysuru: The downfall of Congress in the state will begin with the party’s defeat in Nanjangud and Gundlupet assembly by-elections, said V. Srinivasprasad, BJP candidate for the Nanjangud Assembly constituency, on Sunday.

Mr Srinivasprasad campaigned in Devarasalli, Badanavalu, Nerale, Hemmargala, Kudlapura, Navilooru and Devirammanahalli gram panchayats, along with state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa, party senior leader Shobha Karandlaje and others.

At Badanavalu, he said, “Siddaramaiah is a frog in the well, while I have swum through the ocean and have been a Member of Parliament for 25 years. By dropping me from the cabinet unceremoniously without giving any valid reason, he subjected me to mental agony that I have never experience in my entire life. This election is about self-respect of the people of Nanjangud. You must teach Siddaramaiah a lesson by electing me. Siddaramaiah has finished off the political future of Dalit leaders.  If a person drinks liquor, he will be drunk for some time. But Siddaramaiah is drunk on power forever, and people should shake him up by defeating Congress,” he said.

Mr Yeddyurappa said, “We will waive off agriculture loans if people bring BJP back to power. Mr Srinivasprasad is an honest man and that is the reason he was dropped from the cabinet. He will expose corruption in the Siddaramaiah government by entering the Assembly. I have never campaigned at gram panchayat level in my own constituency in Shikaripura, but I am doing it here. It will be my victory if Mr Prasad wins. People should think that I am the candidate and vote for him. Mr Siddaramaiah has failed to find solutions to long-standing issues of the people. The entire state is suffering from a severe drought. Instead of touring drought-hit areas, the district in-charge minister and his cabinet colleagues are sowing seeds of caste and hatred in the minds of the people of Nanjangud and Gundlupet, while Mr Siddaramaiah is behind this ploy. He and MP Dhruvnarayan should be ashamed of launching negative publicity against me and say that I had gone to jail. I will file defamation cases against those who made me go to jail by lodging false complaint against me.”

In Hemmargala, the birthplace of Mr ‘Benki’ Mahadev, Mr Yeddyurappa reminded people that “Siddaramaiah insulted Mr Mahadev by slapping him.”