Pressure from BJP to Field CN Manjunath for LS Polls: HDK
Bengaluru: Janata Dal Secular (JDS) State president and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday stated he is under pressure from Bharatiya Janata Party high command with whom his party is into alliance for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, to field his brother-in-law previous director of Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bangalore Dr C.N. Manjunath from Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
“It has been the wish of both Central and State BJP leaders to field Manjunath as its consensus nominee,” said Kumaraswamy while stating that he wanted to field BJP leader and former minister C.P. Yogeshwar as the JDS-BJP consensus nominee. But, even Yogeshwar expressed that Manjunath should be made the consensus nominee for Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat.
For the Bengaluru Rural seat, Congress party has announced its incumbent MP D.K. Suresh as its nominee for the ensuing Lok Sabha election from the seat. Suresh has won Bengaluru Rural seat twice and he is the brother of president of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Kumaraswamy on the contest of Manjunath, said “We have to respect the sentiments expressed by BJP Central and State leaders.”
Regarding Manjunath’s contest as the consensus nominee, he said he held discussions with his father and former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda on Sunday and the meeting lasted for about two-hours and in the meeting with Devegowda, he was convinced on Manjunath’s candidature.
Kumaraswamy said that his sister is against fielding her husband Manjunath as the consensus nominee and expressed her wish to stay away from politics. Manjunath’s brother C.N. Balakrishna is JDS MLA representing Shravanabelagola Assembly seat in Hassan.
“Our aim is to defeat an ‘evil’ opponent in the fray,” Kumaraswamy said without taking the name of Congress nominee D.K. Suresh and he stated to have appealed to his partymen to be 'loyal' and strive hard for the success of JDS-BJP consensus nominee in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.