Yediyurappa should have insisted on my LS ticket, just as he did for his candidates

Mysore/Mysuru: Former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha has said that he will enter the Karnataka Legislative Assembly soon. Making his intention clear in an interview to a Kannada news channel, he announced his plan to formally join the Assembly in coming days.

“I may not be in Vidhana Soudha right now, but I am very much involved in State politics. Recently, I’ve been speaking logically and strongly about State issues. Earlier, I didn’t speak much about State matters. Now I am already in State politics and will be heading to Vidhana Soudha soon,” he said.

The former MP mentioned that he has not yet made any preparations regarding his Constituency. “The decision on the Constituency will be made by Goddess Chamundeshwari. There will be a reorganisation of Constituencies soon, with an increase of 70-80 seats in Karnataka and a 33 percent reservation for women will be applied. If the Congress Government falls and elections are held due to the scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, I will certainly be in the Old Mysore region,” he hinted.

“I am confident that those who sent me to the Lok Sabha will also send me to the Legislative Assembly. I entered the LS through the front door and will enter the Legislative Assembly the same way,” he stated.

He further stated, “The decision for me to contest from the Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha Constituency was blessed by senior members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). I became an MP under their guidance. Without the RSS, the BJP is nothing,” he said.

Vokkaligas sidelined in BJP

“If H.N. Ananth Kumar was alive today, he would not have allowed this injustice to happen to me. I had deep faith in former CM B.S. Yediyurappa, who is also a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board. His son is the State BJP President. Just as he insisted on tickets for some of his candidates, Yediyurappa should have insisted on my ticket. This is my belief,” he said.

Simha pointed out that, despite his strong track record and popularity, he was denied the party ticket, which he attributes to a ‘scheme’ by certain leaders who used the ‘OBC’ card to ensure Yaduveer’s nomination as the BJP candidate.

“I don’t think this could ever happen in Lingayat-dominated seats like Haveri, Belagavi, or Shivamogga, where Lingayat leaders are the candidates,” Simha stated

‘The Royal family kept me in the dark’

Prathap Simha expressed disappointment with Mysuru-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and his mother, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, for not informing him about Yaduveer’s plans to contest in the last Lok Sabha elections.

“I personally called Yaduveer and Pramoda Devi Wadiyar one month before the tickets were announced and asked about Yaduveer’s plans to contest. They told me they had no such plans,” he said.

“Yaduveer even told me he had no interest in politics. But after his name was announced, he told me he had been preparing for the elections for a year,” Prathap Simha noted.