Bengaluru: Disappointed BJP workers are blaming the defeat of party candidate, Tulasi Muniraju Gowda in R.R. Nagar Assembly constituency on the lacklustre campaigning by its city leaders. Mr Gowda lost by over 25,000 votes against Mr Munirathna of the Congress on Thursday. While some Vokkaliga leaders of the BJP stayed away from the campaigning, the few that turned up, hardly spent any time in the constituency, according to party sources.
"When a large number of fake voter ID cards were found in an apartment in Jalahalli, prompting the EC to postpone the elections to R R Nagara, party leaders could have aggressively campaigned, focusing on this malpractice of the Congress, but they did not," rue party insiders.
At the root of the BJP's disinterest was reportedly Bengaluru unit leader and former deputy Chief Minister R. Ashok's alleged opposition to Mr. Muniraju Gowda and his insistence on his supporter, G.H. Ramachandra, contesting the poll instead.
After Mr Ashok lost out to party national joint secretary Santhosh, who backed Mr Gowda, the BJP lost Mr. Ramachandra to the JD(S), which fielded him from R.R. Nagara, where he came third in the race with 60,360 votes.
In fact, it is claimed that the BJP's city unit leaders had arrived at a tacit understanding with the Congress and JD(S) in some constituencies, costing it three or four seats in Bengaluru in the just concluded assembly poll.
