Moideen Bava Getting Jittery due to my contest: Muneer Katipalla
Muneer Katipalla State president of DYFI is contesting the Mangalore North constituency as CPI(M) candidate. Mangalore north is considered as one of the communally sensitive constituency and it has garnered unusual attention due to the contest of Muneer Katipalla. Apart from CPM workers several supporters and sympathizers of Muneer are campaigning for him briskly. Muneer shot to fame due to his involvement with several struggles and agitations. Vartha bharathi spoke to him on his busy campaign trail.
VB: How is it going?
MK: Moving briskly. I am out by 7 am and return by 11 pm. till noon it is door to door visit and consultations with party workers. In the afternoon, I participate in Public rallies. In between I make a call to voters whom I know. By the way, we had covered the entire constituency even before the announcement of the elections. Now we are in to second round. We have already covered around 60% voters and we are confident that in the next one week we will reach the rest.
VB: How is the response of the voters?
MK: Much more than pour expectations. Wherever I go people are saying that I should be their representative; not only that they are contributing voluntarily to my election expenses. Most of them are unknown to Me.!!
VB: What do you think are the positive things?
MK: My struggle against MRPL has given me a kick start. Moreover the way I questioned the functioning of the present MLA, has caught the imagination of the people
VB: Who will find it easy due to your presence?
MK: Till now it was always a straight fight between Congress and BJP. Now it is triangular! Moideen Bava, the Congress candidate is getting jittery. On the other hand BJP candidate too is forced to pace its campaign. Both Congress and BJP were complacent till now, as they were sure of certain vote share due to communal polarization. Congress was sure that minorities will vote for it and BJP was sure of Hindutva votes. My contest has turned this calculation on its head. Instead of communal polarization, it is now a contest between 90% poor and 10% rich. So both these parties are spending huge money. And sweating it out day and night
VB: But there is a brisk campaign against you too:
MK: Yes, plenty. They are trying to confuse the voters by spreading canard like, Muneer has retired from the fray, voting for Muneer will make it easy for the victory of BJP . But I am not worried about that. Struggles and agitations have taught me a lot of lessons. I am just using it in my campaign.
VB: Is it likely that NOTA will be used here ...
MK: Initially there were some whispers about that possibility. ‘We want neither congress nor BJP’ was the refrain of the voters. They were talking of using NOTA. But Voters are no more talking about that. ‘You are the best alternative we found and we won’t use NOTA,’ voters are saying upfront. This has doubled my confidence and enthusiasm.
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.
If you have a conscience, apologize to the people: R Ashoka slams Yathindra over Nalwadi comparison
Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka launched a scathing attack on MLC Dr. Yathindra, demanding that he retract his controversial statement comparing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the late Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. Ashoka urged Yathindra to apologize to the people of Karnataka if he had even a shred of conscience and any respect for the Mysuru royal lineage.
In a strongly worded social media post on Sunday, Ashoka stated, “Comparing Siddaramaiah to Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar is nothing short of absurd. Where is Nalwadi, who was bestowed the title of ‘Rajarshi’ by Mahatma Gandhi himself, and where is Siddaramaiah, who has stooped to being a puppet in the hands of fake Gandhis for the sake of power?”
He continued his critique by contrasting the enduring legacy of Nalwadi, remembered fondly by Kannadigas for his people-centric development, with what he termed as Siddaramaiah’s failure to manage Karnataka’s economy, burdening every household with debt.
Ashoka highlighted several stark differences, while Nalwadi built Mysore University over a century ago, Siddaramaiah is shutting down nine universities due to lack of funds. Nalwadi famously sold his family’s gold to build the KRS dam, whereas Siddaramaiah is accused of grabbing 14 sites meant for the public. Nalwadi established Bhadravati Iron & Steel Plant, Sandalwood Soap Factory, and Mysore Paper Mills. In contrast, Ashoka claimed Siddaramaiah's governance drove away industries, investors, and entrepreneurs. Nalwadi pioneered reservations for the backward classes long before it became mainstream. Siddaramaiah, Ashoka alleged, is reducing social justice to a gimmick by sticking labels on doors in the name of surveys.
While acknowledging Yathindra’s emotional attachment to his father, Ashoka emphasized that comparing Siddaramaiah to a visionary like Nalwadi was “laughable, baseless, and a gross insult” to the late king.
In his concluding remarks, Ashoka slammed the government for ignoring farmers’ needs despite an early monsoon. He accused the administration of being caught up in internal power struggles and negligence, forcing farmers into despair. “This government will not be spared from the curse of the farmers,” he warned.
