Bengaluru: Despite persuasion by senior Congress leaders and even warnings, former minister N Cheluvarayaswamy skipped a joint campaign of the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) held for coalition candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy in Nagamangala town in Mandya district on ‘health grounds’.
State Congress leaders had expected the friend-turned foe of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to fall in line and share the dais with leaders of the two parties in his hometown. According to sources, Mr Cheluvarayaswamy met former CM and CLP leader, Mr Siddaramaiah here and expressed his inability to participate in the joint campaign.
Though, Mr Siddaramaiah insisted that he must participate to uphold the ‘coalition dharma’, the former minister once again reminded him of the insult to the Congress party at the hands of Mr Kumaraswamy, and declined to attend. Mr Siddaramaiah then left for the airport to board a chopper along with former PM and JD(S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda.
What seems to have irked Mr Cheluvarayaswamy and his followers is the banner put up on the dais in which his picture is missing.
When the media highlighted this, Mandya MP L.R. Shivaramegowda, who belongs to Nagamangala taluk, got the banner removed.
In his speech, Mr Deve Gowda indirectly hit out at Mr Cheluvarayaswamy saying that a leader who had grown up in the JD(S) and was now in a different party, had not turned up for the campaign.
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