Better if CM's son and nephew remain "backstage" now: Y S V Datta
Bengaluru, Jun 18: Amid reports that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son was likely to be made JD(S) youth wing chief, party's campaign committee President Y S V Datta Tuesday said it will be good if Nikhil Kumaraswamy and his cousin Prajwal Revanna remain "backstage" for some days.
"In my personal opinion, already Nikhil and Prajwal have shown their glow, it will be good if they remain backstage for same days," Datta told reporters in response to a question.
The senior JD(S) leader's comment is being seen as an opposition to any move to bring members of party patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda's family to prominent posts, at a time when the regional party was being targeted for indulging in "family politics", the sources said.
Nikhil and Prajwal are the third generation from the Gowdafamily to be into politics.
Prajwal is the son of Gowda's elder son and PWD minister H D Revanna.
While Nikhil and Deve Gowda had lost from Mandya and Tumkur seats during the recent Lok sabha polls, Prajwal, who contested from the family bastion of Hassan, was the lone winner from the family.
Datta also said the party's ranks and file want AH Vishwanth, who recently submitted his resignation as JD(S) state unit chief, to continue in the position.
"We have requested Deve Gowda to convince Vishwanath," he said.
Datta also said with an aim of organising the party, he has decided to go on 6000-7000 km padayatra in two stages from August.
TheJD(S) had won only one out of 7 seats it had contested in the Lok Sabha polls, while its coalition partner Congress too had managed to win one out of 21 seats it contested during the polls.
The BJP swept the polls, bagging 25 of the 28 seats.
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Crossing river, trekking hill voters reach polling booths to cast vote in Surguja LS constituency
Balrampur/Chhattisgarh (PTI): Enthusiastic voters reached polling booths trekking steep hilly paths, crossing a river and even on a horse to cast their votes in remote areas of the tribal-dominated Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, officials said.
Balrampur district falls under the Surguja Lok Sabha constituency which was among seven seats where polling was held in third and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. The Surguja Lok Sabha recorded 74.59 per cent voting, as per the Turnout application.
Voters, belonging to Pahadi Korva, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, including Rajesh, Madan, Sukhu, Gopal and Nandlal, crossed a river to exercise their franchise at a polling booth in village panchayat Amera under the Samri assembly constituency, a government official said.
Similarly, electors, including Lakhan Nagesia, Sahu, Phulsai and Kalesh of Bachwar village under the Ramanujganj assembly constituency walked through hilly terrain for about two hours covering 8 kms to reach a polling booth and cast their vote, he said. A voter, Parimal Dey, reached a polling booth in Sagarpur village under the Ramanujganj assembly seat on a horse, the official said. Dey is a cattle rearer who owns 150 goats.
Two hyper sensitive polling booths -- Chunchuna and Pundag -- located in a Naxal-affected area of the district which shares border with Jharkhand, also recorded significant turnout, he said. The two booths are located in the Samri assembly constituency.
"Special security arrangements were put in place in this area to ensure peaceful voting. Voters of Chunchuna and Pudang ensured their participation in the great festival of democracy braving Naxalite threat," he said. The Chunchuna polling booth has 767 voters and it recorded 84.35 per cent turnout, while Pundag has 595 electors and it registered a turnout of 72.44 per cent till 5 pm, the official added.
