Finally announcing his return to electoral politics, former Minister V. Srinivas Prasad on Monday confirmed his entry into the poll fray for the Lok Sabha elections from Chamarajanagar reserved constituency as a BJP candidate.
Mr. Prasad, who arrived in Mysuru on Monday after holding deliberations with BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa in Bengaluru, told reporters that he will discuss the date for filing his nomination with his followers.
The BJP is yet to formally announce Mr. Prasad’s candidature from Chamarajanagar.
Mr. Prasad, who had announced his retirement from electoral politics after his rout in the byelections to Nanjangud in 2017, said he was forced to return to the poll fray following pressure from his supporters and followers. The former Union Minister, who has represented Chamarajanagar Parliamentary seat for five terms, recalled that he had last contested LS elections in 1999. “It has been 20 years since I last contested LS polls. Though there was pressure on me, I refused to enter the poll fray in 2004 and 2009,” he said. To a question, Mr. Prasad said he was not approaching the elections to exact “revenge” for his defeat in the 2017 bypolls from Nanjangud. He said the revenge, to a large extent, had been extracted by the Congress’ defeat in Nanjangud in the last Assembly elections when his son-in-law Harshavardhan defeated Congress candidate Kad Keshavamurthy.
However, Mr. Prasad, in an indirect reference to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said he will also broach the issue of injustice caused to him by Congress leaders, who dropped him from the Ministry in 2016.
