A. Manju, Arkalgud MLA, has been chosen by the Congress to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Hassan against the former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda.
Former MLC S.M. Anand was another strong contender for the Congress ticket, and had in fact told a section of the media that he was sure to get it.
However, Mr. Manju took that place in the list of candidates released by the party on Saturday evening. Mr. Anand told The Hindu that his name had been cleared for the ticket, “but somehow it was changed later. I don’t know what prompted high command to change their decision.”
Mr. Manju, three-time MLA from Arkalgud, won from the constituency as a BJP candidate in 1999. Later, he joined the Congress and won again in Arkalgud in 2008 and 2013.
Of the eight Assembly constituencies coming under the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress won only two seats in the 2013 Assembly elections: Belur and Arkalgud. The remaining six were won by JD(S) candidates.
