State BJP President B.S. Yeddyurappa leads the way…

In a renewed bid to wrest the prestigious Nanjangud constituency from the Congress in the forthcoming by-elections due on April 9,  State BJP President B.S. Yeddyurappa launched door-to-door campaigns and rallies across the constituency this morning. Beginning his campaign in Heggadhalli ZP constituency limits, Yeddyurappa was given a rousing welcome at Andasinahalli, where villagers burst crackers to greet him. Pro-BJP slogans rent the air.

Nanjangud is reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate and political pundits say the election results in Nanjangud and Gundlupet (General) will be seen as a test of Chief Minister Siddharamaiah’s leadership skills and his ability to steer the party to victory in the 2018 Assembly elections. The by-elections for both Nanjangud and Gundlupet will be held on April 9 and the results will be out on April 13.

Since the by-elections are happening at the fag end of Congress tenure in Karnataka, this will be an indicator of what’s in store for Congress and the BJP in 2018. The results will also give Siddharamaiah an opportunity to test caste equations and assess the strength of BJP.

Interestingly, the JD(S) is not fielding candidates from both constituencies, thus paving way for a direct contest between the BJP and Congress. While former Minister V. Sreenivasa Prasad (BJP) is contesting against Kalale Keshavamurthy of Congress in Nanjangud, Geetha Mahadevaprasad is pitted against C.S. Niranjan Kumar of the BJP.

This morning, Yeddyurappa who undertook a padayatra at Andanihalli in Nanjangud, accompanied by Sreenivasa Prasad, later went to Debur, where he launched a door-to-door campaign.

Yeddyurappa, after campaigning in 10 villages of Heggadhalli ZP today, will campaign in villages coming under Badanavalu ZP tomorrow.

Addressing villagers at Debur, Yeddyurappa said the entry of former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to the BJP has given a big boost to the party. Maintaining that the candidature of senior Dalit leader V. Sreenivasa Prasad from the BJP has itself created a wave among Dalit and other weaker sections, Yeddyurappa called upon the electorate to ensure a thumping win for Prasad, who all along his political career, has strived hard for their upliftment.

Pointing out that the outcome of Nanjangud and Gundlupet by-polls was crucial for meeting BJP’s “Mission 150” in the 2018 General Assembly elections, Yeddyurappa said the people were eagerly awaiting a BJP Government in the State.

Lashing out at the Congress for deputing an entire Cabinet for Nanjangud and Gundlupet by-polls, he appealed the voters not to get distributed by the presence of Ministers. Sreenivasa Prasad, who also addressed the gathering, said he was overwhelmed with the people’s response across the constituency.

Pointing out that this was his 13th election in his decades-old political career, Prasad said he had already explained to the electorate on the circumstances under which he quit his seat and resigned from the Congress. Stating that it was Yeddyurappa alone who can take the State on the path of development, Prasad appealed the electorate to vote for him. MP and former Minister Shobha Karandlaje, former Minister V. Somanna, former Mayor of Lambeth in London Neeraj Patil, former MUDA Chairman K.R. Mohan Kumar and others were present.