S. Munianjappa, who launched an indefinite dharna at the “samadhi” of his mentor, the former Minister Alangur R. Srinivas, in protest against the denial of Janata Dal (Secular) ticket, has emerged victorious. Bowing to the pressure of party workers in Mulbagal (SC) constituency in Kolar district, party leaders H.D. Deve Gowda and H.D. Kumaraswamy relented and issued “B” form to Mr. Munianjappa. They had earlier given the form to Adinarayana.
Mr. Munianjappa, runner-up in the 2008 elections in the segment, launched the protest after he was denied ticket by the party.
A number of senior leaders also joined hands with him and reportedly convinced the leadership of the consequences of fielding Bagepalli-based Adinarayana, an outsider, in the constituency.
As Mr. Munianjappa, a former government engineer, had lost the previous elections by less than 200 votes, the leaders changed their mind in the last minute and declared him the official party candidate, withdrawing the “B” form given to Mr. Adinarayana.
An elated Mr. Munianjappa then went to the returning officer with his supporters and filed his nomination papers on Wednesday.
However, though Mr. Munianjappa got ticket by adopting a Gandhian way of struggle, this spurred another round of headache for the party leadership.
While a disgruntled Mr. Adinarayana filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate, another Janata Dal(S) ticket aspirant, C.V. Gopal, has also entered the fray in revolt against the party leadership. Mr. Gopal filed his nomination papers on the last day as an independent contestant.
Meanwhile, addressing presspersons here on Thursday, the former Zilla Panchayat president Mangamma termed the development as an insult to the Bovi community to which Mr. Adinarayana belongs. “The withdrawal of the ‘B’ form given to Mr. Adinarayana has hurt the Bovis, a Dalit community,” she said. She also expressed displeasure against both Mr. Deve Gowda and Mr. Kumaraswamy over the issue.
