Nikhil defends JD(S) stance on Channapatna bypoll

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: JD(S) Karnataka youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy on Monday defended his party’s stand on the Channapatna by-election in response to BJP leader CP Yogeshwar’s comments on the issue. Yogeshwar had visited Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti’s Hubballi residence on Monday and tendered his resignation as MLC. On the occasion, he told mediapersons that he still wanted to contest as the BJP candidate from Channapatna but failing that he said that he’d contest as an independent.

He also pointed out that every effort was made to make Nikhil the lone Channapatna candidate from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Nikhil made the comments after holding a meeting at his grandfather and JD(S) national president HD Devegowda's home in Bengaluru's Padmanabhanagar on Monday. “Today, CP Yogeshwar said efforts were put in to make Nikhil Kumaraswamy the Channapatna candidate. He is very senior to me and is very experienced.

I’d like to tell him that if I had the desire to become the MLA or MP, I had ample opportunity since you’ll recall Mandya workers had lent their support to me when we held a meeting there in Ambedkar Bhavan. Instead, I did groundwork and organised the party along with the cadre,” Nikhil said. “I’d like to tell CP Yogeshwar that please don’t suggest that Kumaraswamy pulled the strings to make his son the candidate,” he added.