Public campaigning ended in Hunsur Assembly segment on Tuesday evening. The day saw former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah garlanding a statue of the late former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs in the town and holding a roadshow.
Targeting former Minister A.H. Vishwanath, who is the BJP candidate from Hunsur, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Supreme Court had upheld Mr. Vishwanath’s disqualification from the Assembly. “It is now in the court of the people of Hunsur, who should send him home permanently,” he said. The Congress leader campaigned in about 15 villages in Hunsur on Tuesday.
Later in the evening, Mr. Siddaramaiah tweeted to clarify as “fake” an announcement shared on social media that he was indirectly supporting Mr. Vishwanath and had cancelled his visit to villages dominated by Kurubas. Mr. Siddaramaiah stated that Mr. Vishwanath had resorted to such a desperate measure out of fear of losing.
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Earlier in the day, when reporters brought to his notice Mr. Vishwanath complimenting him, the former Chief Minister said the BJP candidate was going soft on him in the fear that an attack would backfire. Mr. Vishwanath said he had complimented Mr. Siddaramaiah as a good administrator out of respect. “If he does not want it, I will not praise him,” the BJP leader said. Mr. Vishwanath also threatened to file a defamation case against former Minister and JD(S) MLA S.R. Mahesh for accusing him of defecting to the BJP after accepting money.