Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa has said that the campaigning done by actors, for Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Geetha Shivarajkumar, will not influence the Shimoga voters.
“It is true that the turnout for the election campaign meetings of the JD(S) was good owing to the participation of actors. But, this crowd will not be converted into votes,” he told presspersons here on Wednesday.
Mr. Eshwarappa said that the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who is known for his leadership qualities, should become the Prime Minister for the comprehensive development of the nation.
B.S. Yeddyurappa, BJP candidate from Shimoga, had initiated many development works in the district during his tenure as the Chief Minister. While the JD(S) is trying to impress the voters through actors, the BJP is seeking votes by highlighting issues of development and by promising to address the problems faced by the common people, he said.
The people of Shimoga constituency are known for their political maturity and the tactics of the JD(S) to win the elections will not succeed here, he said.
Ayanur Manjunath, Rajya Sabha member, alleged that the JD(S) had entered into a secret pact with the Congress in Shimoga. It is surprising that the Congress leaders here have not taken the Lok Sabha elections seriously. In Sagar Assembly constituency, prominent Congress leaders have remained off campaigning, he said.
On the allegations levelled by JD(S) MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan that a section of the BJP leaders in Shimoga district, including Mr. Eshwarappa, were trying to defeat Mr. Yeddyurappa, he said that Mr. Khan should stop issuing such baseless statements.
“Mr. Khan has shown disloyalty to his party by secretly campaigning for Rizwan Arshad, Congress candidate from the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency. During the bypolls for the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency in August 2013, Mr. Khan had worked against party candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy. Mr. Khan, who is bereft of principles and values, has no moral right to speak against the BJP,” he said.
