Mysuru: Stating that he had accepted defeat in the recently held MLC polls for the dual member Mysuru-Chamarajanagar seat from Local Authorities Constituency within the purview of democracy, BJP candidate Raghu R. Kautilya said he would take the blame himself for the defeat besides stating that he would continue to strive for realising the dreams of Prime Minister Modi of making India a self-reliant country.

Addressing a press meet at Pathrakartara Bhavan here yesterday afternoon, Raghu Kautilya, who lost the polls by a whisker in the elimination round of counting late on Tuesday night, said that he had personally contacted over 6,700 voters in the two districts of Mysuru and Chamarajanagar and sought their support.

He denied that his party men sabotaged his chances of winning. “All party leaders and workers of both the districts toiled for my success. I will not blame any BJP leader for my loss. There was a hidden understanding between Congress and JD(S) in the elections and this led to my losing the polls,” he clarified.

“I had embarked on a ship that would sail me through to the winning post in the election in the first preferential vote itself. But as the counting progressed, I had to hop on to a coracle and sail on troubled waters. Eventually I could not make it to the banks and drowned in deep waters just close to the banks,” Raghu said while narrating the travails that he underwent during the entire counting process.

 Noting that MPs Pratap Simha and V. Sreenivasa Prasad, MLAs L. Nagendra, S.A. Ramdas, B. Harshavardhan, C.S. Niranjan Kumar and N. Mahesh, Ministers R. Ashoka, K.S. Eshwarappa and S.T. Somashekar, Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, former CMs Sadananda Gowda and B.S. Yediyurappa, youth leader B.Y. Vijayendra and several other top leaders had campaigned for him, he said that more than his defeat, he was deeply pained over the fact that he could not keep the trust that the high command had reposed  on his victory.

 Thanking the party top brass for giving him the ticket for the second time, Raghu asserted that from now on he would only be a loyal worker and would do any work that the party assigns him.

Contending that he would continue to strive for realising the dreams of Prime Minister Modi of making India self-reliant country in all respects, he said he would strive for declaring a separate category — Backward Class Minorities — that covers over 70 micro and marginalised communities of the State and who thus far have been deprived of any top public posts in the Government.

Explaining his plans for the development of the rural population, Raghu said that he had plans of setting up skill centres in all districts in order to prevent migration of the rural population to cities in search of jobs.

Asserting that he would have been a voice for the entire rural population of the State had he been elected to the Legislative Council, Raghu reiterated the need for empowering the marginalised sections by developing them economically, educationally, socially and politically in real terms, as a matter of rendering social justice to deprived and neglected sections.

City BJP President T.S. Srivatsa, District President Mangala Somashekar, leaders Somasundar, Mahesh Raje Urs and Vaneesh were present at the press meet.