The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Congress workers’ protest blocks road

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Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Congress workers’ protest blocks road

Special Correspondent

Demand that their leaders be nominated by the party to contest Assembly elections

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

Backing their leader: Supporters of R.V. Devaraj staging a protest in front of the KPCC office in Bangalore on Tuesday demanding that he be nominated to contest the Assembly elections from Chickpet constituency.

Bangalore: The police had to be called in to disperse the crowd in front of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office on Queen’s Road. Followers of R.V. Devaraj, who has been denied a ticket to contest from Chickpet constituency, were blocking the road during peak hour on Tuesday morning.

Around the same time, Congress workers from Rajajinagar and Mahalakshmi Layout constituencies also arrived, demanding that their leaders, Puttaraju, former Deputy Mayor of Bangalore, and Nagaraju be given ticket.

Decision today

The Congress high command has withheld its decision to nominate P.R. Ramesh, former Mayor of Bangalore, whose request to contest from Chickpet constituency had been approved. He has not been given the B form for filing his nomination papers. A final decision on the nominee will be taken on Wednesday.

Mr. Devaraj, a close associate of the former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, gave up the Chamarajpet seat, which he won in the 1999 elections, to allow Mr. Krishna to contest from there in the 2004 elections. Though he was accommodated in the Legislative Council, he resigned from the Council to contest the byelection following the resignation of Mr. Krishna after he was appointed Governor of Maharashtra. But Mr. Devaraj lost to Zamir Ahmed Khan of the Janata Dal (Secular).

Now that parts of the old Chamarajpet constituency have been included in Chickpet constituency after the delimitation process, Mr. Devaraj has sought to be nominated from Chickpet.

Owners of shops and establishments on J.C. Road, where Mr. Devaraj’s office is situated, and surrounding areas, which form part of Chamarajpet constituency, downed shutters in support of his candidature. Sources said that the party was in a fix on nominating a candidate for the Jayanagar Assembly constituency. It had announced in the first list of candidates that Samiullah would be the nominee. But the decision had to be kept in abeyance following serious reservations expressed by party workers and members of the public, sources said.

A large number of Vokkaligas in the party have reportedly urged the high command to field Mr. Krishna. The party, sources said, may ask the veteran Congressman to contest from either Maddur or Jayanagar.

The Vokkaligara Vedike of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee has criticised the high command for not fielding Mr. Krishna.

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