Hassan: BJP candidate for Hassan A. Manju, who left the Congress recently to join the saffron party, claims he is banking on support from local Congress workers to cruise to victory in the constituency this Lok Sabha poll. In a chat with Deccan Chronicle on Friday, he said that he was confident of getting the support of nearly 70 per cent of the Congress workers of Hassan this election.
"Besides, when I was a minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, work on the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project was started in Sakleshpur in Hassan to supply water to the parched taluks of Arasikere , Belur and others," he recalled, claiming that this too would help him win.
The former Congress minister may not be delusional as a section of Congress workers in Arasikere, Channarayapatna and Holenarsipura taluks had openly declared their support for the BJP candidate for Hassan while objecting to the party's seat sharing arrangement with the JD(S).
Aware of the rumbles, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a joint campaign with JD(S) supremo, Deve Gowda on Thursday in Kadur, Arasikere and Arakalagudu taluks, appealing to voters to teach Mr Manju a lesson for "betraying" the Congress party after enjoying power as a minister in its government.
Mr Prajwal Revanna, grandson of Mr Deve Gowda, who is making his electoral debut from Hassan these elections, however, asserted during his campaign that he had the full support of the local Congress party workers. Hassan district Congress president, Javagal Manjunath, meanwhile made it clear that the coalition partners were going ahead with their joint campaigning and intended to stay united.
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