Deve Gowda breathes easy as Cong rebel candidate pulls out of contest
Tumkur, Mar 29: In a big relief to JDS patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Congress sitting MP from Tumkur S P Muddahanumegowda Friday pulled out of the contest as the rebel candidate against him.
Gowda is the joint nominee of Karnataka's Congress-JDS ruling alliance, which was worried over his electoral prospects after Muddahanumegowda jumped into the fray defying the understanding under which the seat was allotted to the JDS.
"Angry" at being denied the ticket, Muddahanumegowda had filed his papers both as party candidate and as an independent but finally yielded to persuasion from the party leadership.
The leadership made several attempts to pacify Muddahanumegowda, with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal intervening finally.
Muddahanumegowda told PTI that he has withdrawn his nomination, respecting the "persuasion" made by the Congress high command.
"Rahul Gandhi himself spoke to me (Thursday morning), K C Venugopal spoke to me several times, also our KPCC president, deputy chief minister and also CLP leader Siddaramaiah started persuading me and said the coalition is at stake because of my nomination as rebel," he said.
"Though my people did not agree for withdrawing nomination, somehow I had to, as I didn't want to become reason for anything going wrong between two parties," he added.
Muddahanumegowda said he was "angry" and "furious" for the reason that the sitting MP was deprived of contesting election.
He said he had filed the nomination as constituency leaders and workers insisted on his contesting, after his request to coalition leaders to reconsider the decision and field him, did not yield results.
The Congress leader said he had gone through "agony and mental torture" after being denied ticket despite being "active and performing member."
Asked about campaigning for Gowda, he said, "I'm a sensitive politician..I will think over..I will need some time."
Muddahanumegowda, who had worked as a judicial officer in the past is the only member among ten sitting Congress MPs from the state denied ticket, citing coalition compulsions.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister GParameshwara and KPCC chief Dinesh Gundu Rao visited Muddahanumegowda's residence in the city to persuade him, as Friday was the last day to withdraw nomination.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rao said the party has respect for Muddahanumegowda and conceded that "injustice" has happened to him, as he blamed coalition compulsions for it.
"It is the responsibility of the party to treat him respectfully," he added.
Meanwhile, K N Rajanna, another Congress leader and former MLA who also had filed his nomination from Tumkur as an independent candidate, upset over his party's decision to cede the seat to JD(S), has also withdrawn his nomination.
Stating that he was with Muddahanumegowda, Rajanna told reporters he will abide by the party's decision.
The JD(S) bagged Tumkur seat after a hard bargain with the Congress as the grand old party did not concede Mysore, another seat that it had demanded, due to strong resentment from Siddaramaiah, as it is his home turf.
Mysore and Tumkur both come under old Mysuru region where Vokkaliga community, seen as a strong vote bank of JD(S) is dominant.
The Congress too has considerable presence there.
Gowda opted for Tumkur seat over Bangalore North, another option that was available before him, after giving up Hassan Lok Sabha seat that he had been representing, tograndson Prajwal Revanna.
If Muddahanumegowda had contested from Tumkur as a rebel candidate, it would have added to the Congress-JD(S) coalition worries as the alliance is facing backlash at several places, including Mandya and Hassan, with party workers unhappy with the seat arrangements.
For the coalition to emerge as a formidable opposition to BJP and win more number of seats, it is crucial for the Congress to transfer its votes to JD(S), and vice-versa.
The BJP has fielded G S Basavaraj as its candidate from Tumkur which will go to polls in the first phase on April 18.
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Himanta Biswa Sarma files nomination from Jalikbari constituency
Guwahati, Mar 20 (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma filed nomination papers on Friday, seeking re-election from the Jalukbari constituency for the sixth term in a row.
Sarma was accompanied by his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, son Nandil Biswa Sarma, BJP's Gauhati Lok Sabha MP Bijuli Kalita Medhi and Guwahati Mayor Mrigen Sarania.
Before reaching the Kamrup (Metropolitan) District Election office to file the nomination, the CM, atop an open vehicle, led a large procession from the Veterinary Field at Khanapara to the election office at Hengrabari, a distance of about 5.6 kms.
The BJP leader got off the vehicle at Last Gate in Dispur, walked for a few minutes, and then entered another vehicle to reach the office of the district commissioner cum district electoral officer.
He was greeted along the way by traditional 'gayan-bayan' (a group of traditional devotional performers), Bihu dancers and drummers.
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Thousands of people from his constituency, the majority of whom were women, braved incessant rains since last night to accompany Sarma in the procession.
Sarma's wife was seen taking a selfie with him and their son in the vehicle.
Prior to setting out to file the papers, the chief minister sought the blessings of his mother Mrinalini Devi.
''Auspicious occasions should always begin with mother's blessings. Though I don't get to spend much time with her these days, her blessings always power me to continue serving Aai Asomi (mother Assam),'' Sarma said in a post on X.
After filing his papers, Sarma urged people to bless him and all candidates of the BJP and its two alliance partners -- the AGP and the BPF.
He thanked the people of his constituency for coming from far and near despite the heavy rain.
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The CM said that several new areas have been included in his constituency, which was realigned during the delimitation exercise.
''It will take some time to get the people of these areas, but I am confident that they will bless and support him,'' Sarma said.
He said that it will not be possible for him to campaign extensively in his own constituency, as he has to go to other seats for canvassing.
''The party workers will take care of my campaign.... I will also try to go and Riniki (his wife) will also visit some places,'' he said, adding that he will address five to six meetings in a day.
Regarding campaigning by national leaders, Sarma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three meetings and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address six to eight. A meeting will also be held this evening to finalise the plan.
Sarma has represented Jalukbari under the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency since 2001 and seeks to retain it for the sixth consecutive term in the polls.
He first contested this seat in 1996 as a Congress candidate, losing to late AGP leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan by 17,000 votes but he wrested the seat from him in 2001, winning by a margin of 10,000 votes.
Sarma's winning spree continued, and the victory margin kept increasing in each poll, and he achieved a record win by 1,01,000 in 2021. He joined the BJP in 2015.
The last date for filing of nomination papers was March 23, scrutiny of papers will be held the next day, and the last date of withdrawal is March 26.
Elections to the 126-member assembly will be held on April 9, and the votes will be counted on May 4.
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