Mala Narayanrao and Rani Samyuktha, ticket aspirants from the Congress and the BJP, respectively in Basavakalyan of Bidar district and Vijayanagara in Vijayanagara district, have expressed their dissatisfaction for not being considered by their party leaderships to be fielded in the Assembly elections this time.
In a meeting of her followers held at the memorial of her husband late Narayanrao at Mudbi Cross Industrial Area near Basavakalyan on Wednesday, Mala Narayanrao broke down for being deprived of Congress ticket.
She also held Vijay Singh, son of the former Chief Minister late N. Dharam Singh, for snatching her chance to fight the elections.
“In the by-election in Basavakalyan that was necessitated by the death of my husband, I was the Congress candidate. Vijay Singh worked to defeat me and was successful in his mission. Now, he has snatched the Basavakalyan Congress ticket from me. He is the son of a former Chief Minister and he could have contested from any segment in the State. But, he chose to deprive a widow of her ticket,” she told media persons after the meeting.
In Hosapete, Rani Samyuktha attacked BJP leadership and Anand Singh for depriving her of the party ticket and fielding Mr. Singh’s son, Siddharth Singh, in Vijayanagara constituency.
“It is now clear that the BJP will never encourage sincere party workers. The latest example of it is the selection of the party candidate in the Vijayanagara Assembly segment. Siddharth Singh, son of Anand Singh, is just 25 years old and he doesn’t have any experience in the party. Yet, he was given party ticket, neglecting me,” Ms. Saymuktha, BJP’s national executive member, told a media conference that she addressed after holding a meeting of her followers at her residence in Sandur on Wednesday.
When asked about her future course of action, she said that she would tour the constituency along with her followers and take an appropriate decision after consulting the people.
“Other party leaders are in constant touch with me. I will decide on whether to continue in the BJP or join some other party after consulting my followers and people in the constituency. My followers are pressurising me to quit the BJP. I will take a decision soon,” she said.
To a question, she clarified that though she was a relative of Mr. Anand Singh, she was from a different family and belonged to the Lingayat community now.
“Anand Singh and I are not from the same family now. Mr. Singh is the son of my uncle. I am his cousin. After getting married, I am a Lingayat now. Our families have close ties. But, it doesn’t mean that we are from the same family. My husband and I have worked hard for the party for the last 30 years. I felt very bad after being denied BJP ticket,” she said.
