Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat Congress candidate R. Dhruvanarayan on Monday accused former Minister and BJP candidate V. Srinivas Prasad of indulging in unhealthy criticism against him and described his remarks as “unbecoming” of a five-time MP.
“I have worked hard in the constituency for the last ten years as the Congress MP. I am seeking votes based on the development works carried out when the UPA government was in power at the Centre and the Congress government was in power in the State under Mr. Siddaramaiah’s leadership,” he told reporters, after seeking the blessings of Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Suttur Mutt here.
Mr. Dhruvanarayan, who filed his nomination at Chamarajanagar on Monday, maintained that Chamarajanagar was a Congress stronghold and the JD(S) had extended support being the coalition partner. “I am confident of romping home with the combined votes of Congress and JD(S) parties,” he said.
Confident of win
Minister for Backward Classes Puttaranga Shetty said he was confident that Mr. Dhruvanarayan would win the election with a larger margin as the party had been strengthened at the gram panchayat level.
Yathindra and Anil Chikkamadu, MLAs; M. Shivanna, former MP; Dharmasena, MLC; H.P. Manjunath, Balaraj, and Kalale Keshavamurthy, former MLAs; H.A. Venktatesh, KPCC spokesperson; and other leaders of the party from Mysuru and Chamarajnagar were present.
Earlier, Mr. Dhruvanarayan, accompanied by Puttaranga Shetty, Minister for Backward Classes; Yathindra, Varuna MLA; Anil Chikkamadu, H.D. Kote MLA; and R. Narendra, Hanur MLA; submitted his nomination to Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer B.B. Cauvery in Chamarajnagar.
The two-time Congress MP is vying for a hat-trick from the reserved constituency. His opponent is five-time MP and BJP candidate V. Srinivas Prasad, who will be filing his nomination on Tuesday.
Temple visits
Before filing his papers, Mr. Dhruvanarayan visited B.R. Hills temple and offered prayers. He later visited other temples and proceeded to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in a procession to file his nomination accompanied by hundreds of supporters.
He told reporters that he was confident of winning the election with a higher margin. Mr. Dhruvanarayan had won the 2014 election with a margin of 1.41 lakh.
