Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday said there was no discussion or agreement regarding giving up the Channapatna Assembly constituency before he decided to contest from Mandya in the Lok Sabha election.
Speaking to the media ahead of a workers’ meeting in Channapatna, he said there was “no agreement with BJP leaders to cede the constituency to C.P. Yogeshwar or anyone else”. Mr. Yogeshwar has been lobbying hard to contest the Channapatna seat bypoll, necessitated by Mr. Kumaraswamy giving up the seat to contest the Lok Sabha election.
He said C.N. Manjunath’s (his brother-in-law who contested the Lok Sabha election on the BJP ticket) candidacy for the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat was primarily due to the insistence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “I had previously suggested that Mr. Yogeshwar should be the candidate for Bengaluru Rural,” he claimed.
The Union Minister said no decision had been made yet regarding candidates for the Channapatna constituency. “Meetings with party workers are ongoing. A final decision will be made after discussions with leaders at both the State and Central levels. I cannot criticise BJP leaders and workers for their meetings, that would be unfair. Channapatna is a stronghold of the JD(S), and I must decide based on the workers’ opinions, as they have strengthened the party’s organisation,” he said.
No decision on Nikhil
Mr. Kumaraswamy clarified that no discussions have taken place about whether his son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, should contest. “As of now, I have not made a decision. My aim is for the Congress to lose and for the NDA alliance candidate to win. Based on this context, an appropriate candidate will be decided in discussions between the national and State leaders of both parties.”
Published - October 10, 2024 11:04 pm IST
