Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa has said he will take responsibility for the defeat of his sister Geetha Shivarajkumar in the Lok Sabha election. “However, it is not her defeat. She has won the hearts of 5.35 lakh people,” he said.
The Minister spoke at a ceremony to thank party workers, organised by Shivamogga District Congress Committee in Shivamogga on Monday.
The Minister said Geetha Shivarajkumar, Congress candidate, travelled in the constituency and won people’s hearts. The Congress party had launched schemes to strengthen the lives of poor people. “However, people did not elect the Congress candidate. We are engaged in the efforts to find reasons for the defeat,” he said.
In the democratic set-up, the Minister said, everybody should respect the people’s choice. “We accept the defeat. And, we take inspiration from the defeat for future fights,” he said. He also thanked the leaders of the party and the workers for their hard work.
Ms. Geetha Shivarajkumar thanked party leaders and workers for their support during the campaign. She said she would be with the people of the constituency and start Shaktidhama, a shelter for women, in Shivamogga as well. “Often people comment that we don’t have a house in Shivamogga. We will have one here,” he said.
Shivaraj Kumar, actor and husband of the candidate, who campaigned extensively in the constituency, said he was happy to be part of the campaign in Shivamogga. “Geetha has shown interest in politics. What is wrong with that? Everybody has his or her own area of interest,” he said, adding that he was upset with comments made by some people regarding her contest.
Former Minister Kimmane Ratnakar opined that politicians should treat both victory and defeat as the same. “I contested five elections and suffered defeat three times. It is all part of the game. However, we should not lose hope in the ideology we are fighting for. We all should go to each booth and strengthen our organization for the coming local body elections,” he said.
Former MP Ayanur Manjunath stressed the need to focus on individual voters and strengthen the party’s support at the grassroots.
The party’s district president, R. Prasanna Kumar, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders were present at the programme.
