Mysuru: Former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha has reiterated that he will contest the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections from the Chamaraja Constituency.

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru yesterday, Simha hit back at Chamaraja MLA K. Harishgowda, who had described him as an “outsider.”

“Harishgowda, you yourself shifted from Janata Dal (Secular) to the Congress. For the Congress, you are the real outsider,” Simha said.

He also questioned the basis of the remark, saying, “Didn’t Sonia Gandhi, who was born in Italy, contest from Ballari? Didn’t Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi contest from Wayanad in Kerala? Then how am I an outsider? Don’t make ignorant statements.”

Highlighting his work as an MP, Simha said, he had undertaken several development projects in Chamaraja Constituency and had received a strong mandate from voters on two occasions. He expressed confidence that the electorate would support him again in 2028 Assembly polls.

Warning Harishgowda against what he called a misinformation campaign, Prathap Simha said, “If you do not stop spreading false propaganda against me, I will be forced to expose your actions before the public.”

Targeting the Congress leadership, Simha said, “In Tamil Nadu, the Congress is like a joker card. For the Karnataka Congress, the State is like a Kamadhenu. Karnataka is needed to fulfil the real estate deals and the ambitions of the High Command. Karnataka has been very fruitful for the Congress. Let Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar focus on advising Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay instead.”