BJP candidate Yaduveer welcomed with arati, shower of flower petals at Ashokapuram; Sunnadakeri residents wash his feet in devotion

Mysore/Mysuru: Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, BJP candidate for Lok Sabha elections from Mysuru-Kodagu Constituency, appealed voters to support him in the elections on Apr. 26 to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards building a stronger India.

He was addressing the gathering during a public meeting organised on 9th Cross, Ramanuja Road in city on Thursday.

Yaduveer said: “I am the nominee of BJP and JD(S) alliance and in the fray with the blessings of PM Modi, who has made several contributions to the country. Prior to Modi’s tenure in office in 2014, the country’s economy was in jeopardy, but now in the year 2024 it has scaled up to become fifth largest economy. This achievement was possible due to the pro-development style of functioning of Modi. Metro rail connectivity that was earlier provided in seven cities has now been extended to 22 cities.”

While 9,000 km long National Highways were built in 65 years, it has now touched 1.5 lakh km distance now, he added.

Road show

Earlier in the day, Yaduveer took out a road show in Ashokapuram and Sunnadakeri where people greeted him with a rousing reception. At Ashokapuram,  Yaduveer was welcomed with a shower of flower petals, the residents of Sunnadakeri washed his feet as a mark of devotion towards the erstwhile royal family.

Yaduveer, who offered his floral tributes to the statue of Architect of the Constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar at the park named after Ambedkar in Ashokapuram, later went around the locality in an open vehicle. However, upon noticing the women waiting to offer him a traditional welcome with arati, he chose to alight and walk through every streets of the locality on a padayatra. The women who greeted Yaduveer with arati, later applied tilak on his forehead wishing victory in the elections, besides showering flower petals. The aghoris (Sadhu), who are believed to be the worshippers of Lord Shiva, also met Yaduveer and blessed him.

Yaduveer recalled the emotional connect between the erstwhile royal family and Ashokapuram. When the wooden Palace caught fire, the residents of Ashokapuram had joined hands in dousing the fire, he said.

The mood at Ashokapuram was a repeat of overwhelming reception offered to Yaduveer’s father late Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, when he had also contested Lok Sabha polls several decades ago.

Yaduveer visited Sri Raghavendraswamy Mutt near Ballal Circle and took out a road show in Lakshmipuram. MLA T.S. Srivatsa, former Mayor Shivakumar, former Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Chairman Hemanth Kumar Gowda and others accompanied Yaduveer.

25,000 housing units built in Mysuru

As many as 25,000 houses have been built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Mysuru district alone, with four crore housing units built across the nation. Majority of beneficiaries of this housing scheme are those belonging to backward classes. That apart, 2.5 lakh tap water connections have been provided to houses under  Jal Jeevan Mission. Over 100 Jan Aushad Kendras are opened in Mysuru with medicines available at affordable rates. All these initiatives hold mirror to overall development works of the PM, Yaduveer Wadiyar said.