Shivakumar woos Vokkaligas, says eight tickets given to community

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday tried to woo Vokkaliga voters in Old Mysuru, pointing out that eight persons from the community and associated castes had been given tickets out of a possible 28.

The Karnataka Congress chief made the comments while campaigning in three Lok Sabha constituencies.

He canvassed for Congress candidates Sowmya Reddy in Bengaluru Rural, Venkataramane Gowda (Star Chandru) in Mandya and Shreyas Patel in Hassan on Monday.

All three candidates filed their nominations on the day. Shivakumar, who is emerging as a Vokkaliga mass leader, is trying to retain the votes of the agricultural caste, many of whom had voted for the Congress in last May’s Assembly elections.

JD(S), which purports to be a party that upholds Vokkaliga interests, has a tie-up with BJP. Likening Sowmya to his daughter, Shivakumar called upon voters of Bengaluru South to elect her with a huge margin.

“Of the 28 seats, we have given tickets to eight Vokkaligas including a Reddy and a Bunt. Giving tickets to eight Vokkaligas is our answer to the criticism that Vokkaliga was not made Chief Minister,” Shivakumar said.

HDK not from Mandya: DKS

In Mandya, the Deputy CM tried a different tack, pointing out that the Congress candidate ‘Star Chandru’ was a local while Kumaraswamy was not.

“There is no instance where the people of Mandya gave up their pride and self-respect and handed over power to an outsider. People of Mandya don’t entertain ‘touring talkies’ politics of Kumaraswamy,” Shivakumar said.

“In a democracy anyone can contest elections from anywhere but Kumaraswamy has been hopping from one place to another. Kumaraswamy left Hassan for Ramanagara district and now has moved to Mandya district. You gave power to Kumaraswamy but he did not retain it. Now, he has joined hands with the same people who brought him down from power,” he added.

The Karnataka Congress chief also asked for votes in the name of the party’s mass leaders such as himself and CM Siddaramaiah.