Decision to give Tumkur to JDS will not reduce Cong's hold in seat: Deputy CM Parameshwara
Tumkur, Apr 14: Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara has said the Congress' decision to cede the Tumkur Lok Sabha seat to coalition partner JDS will not reduce the party's hold in the constituency and that their ultimate goal is to see Rahul Gandhi becoming prime minister.
Former prime minister and JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda will take on former parliamentarian G S Basavaraj in Tumkur, which has changed hands between the Congress and the BJP in the past.
"The decision to allot the Tumkur constituency to Deve Gowda will not cut down the Congress' hold there. Our ultimate goal is to see Rahul Gandhi becoming the prime minister of India," Parameshwara told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of an election campaign event at Kolala village here.
Even Deve Gowda has expressed his desire to see Gandhi as prime minister, he added.
"There is a saying in English. It goes something like this - 'one has to accept defeat so that you don't break later' (sic). Therefore, I and my party decided not to field a candidate from Tumkur," he said.
Parameshwara and other local Congress leaders were earlier upset over the seat being denied to sitting MP Muddahanumegowda.
The deputy chief minister had to take a lot of heat from the Tumkur District Congress Committee for his inability to keep the seat for the party, while chairman of the coordination committee Siddaramaiah was successful in denying the Mysuru seat to the JDS despite pressure by the coalition partner.
Muddahanumegowda acknowledged that there was quite a ripple initially when the seat was given to the JDS, but after meeting Gandhi and the central leadership, he withdrew his nomination as an independent candidate.
"I met Rahul Gandhi and other leaders in Delhi. Gandhi told me to withdraw my nomination as a rebel candidate from Tumkur constituency. The scion told me 'you have to do that for India and its security and well being'. I immediately decided to withdraw and started helping Deve Gowda," he said.
The joint campaign trail of the coalition partners has witnessed tremendous response from people, Muddahanumegowda said.
"Having 30 years of political experience, I personally feel we are going to win this seat easily because the failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has percolated down to common people and villagers," he added.
The political pundits, however, say there's a tough battle on the cards for Deve Gowda as he is contesting from a Congress bastion amid disquiet in both his party and ally Congress over allocation of seats and tickets.
They, however, do acknowledge the former prime minister's potential to bounce back as he did by winning the Kanakapura by-election in 2002, after he had lost to G Puttaswamy Gowda of the Congress in 1999 from Hassan.
Candidates of the Congress and the BJP have won ten and four times from the same constituency. It was a Congress stronghold from 1952 to 1989, till the party lost ground to the BJP.
G S Basavaraj is the BJP candidate. He won the seat thrice on a Congress ticket and once as a BJP nominee. He was defeated by Muddahanumegowda in 2014 elections.
The Vokkaliga leader has fielded his grandsons Nikhil K and Prajwal Revanna from Mandya and Hassan respectively. This has apparently left some of the senior JDS leaders, who were hopeful of getting tickets, unhappy.
Tumkur district comes under the Old Mysore region. The JDS has not won an MP seat from there, but C N Bhaskarappa had won in 1996 as undivided Janata Dal candidate.
Tumkur constituency, a dryland region, is spread over 6,706 sq.km. It had 15,94,703 registered voters - 7,97,512 males and 7,97,191 females - till January 2019.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mangaluru man creates India’s first beeswax chessboard, enters record book
Mangaluru: A unique chessboard made entirely from beeswax has earned Prajwal M, a beekeeper from Kinnigoli near Mangaluru, a place in the India Book of Records.
According to a report published by The Times of India on Wednesday, the handmade beeswax chessboard was showcased at a state-level agricultural exhibition held at the University of Agricultural Sciences (GKVK), Bengaluru, last month. The exhibit attracted widespread attention for its creativity and eco-friendly design.
"The beeswax chessboard measuring 20cm by 26cm works like any other chessboard. The only condition is that it should not be exposed to heat," as a full-time beekeeper and founder of Coastal Honey Bee Farm, I have been experimenting with various value-added products from beeswax and honey," TOI quoted Prajwal as saying.
ALSO READ: Chikkamagaluru: 22-year-old girl from Shivamogga dies of heart attack
Prajwal, who runs the Coastal Honey Bee Farm reportedly said, he has been experimenting with value-added products made from honey and beeswax. An MBA graduate, Prajwal took up beekeeping during Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the idea for the chessboard came after he won a state-level award in October, following which he was invited to display an innovative product at the GKVK exhibition.
Initially, I thought of creating a statue, but I realised it would not be possible to complete it within four days. That is when the idea of making a chessboard struck me. Later, I was told that this is the first chessboard of its kind in India, he said.
As per the report, a native of Talipadi village in Dakshina Kannada district, Prajwal is the son of Sunita and Madhava Shettigar. Apart from the chessboard, he has developed over 25 value-added products, including skincare items, kajal, dry fruit honey and other honey-based products. He is also involved in training programmes for aspiring beekeepers and conducts awareness sessions for schoolchildren.
In recognition of his efforts, Prajwal was conferred the state-level Young Beekeeper Award earlier this year. He hopes to commercially introduce the chessboard soon.
