Mangaluru: Declaring unequivocally that the Congress would lose the prestigious Nanjangud bypoll against former Congressman and ex-revenue minister V. Srinivasprasad, senior Congress leader, B. Janardhan Poojary in an open attack on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accused him of harming the party with his "foolishness."
"Siddaramaiah is harming this party. Make Parameshwar or Mallikarjun Kharge the Chief Minister. Let Karnataka have a Dalit Chief Minister. Siddaramaiah's failures will only harm the party. There is a limit to even foolishness," he told reporters here, adding, "Do you want to know what the result of the Nanjangud byelection will be? We will lose it! We will be defeated even if we field a good candidate as voters are clever. They see everything."
The BJP has declared Srinivasprasad as its candidate. Asked if a defeat in Nanjangud could indicate the fall of the Congress government in the coming assembly elections, Mr Poojary claimed the signs of its downfall were already visible. "Confusion within the Congress has led to its fall. We are digging our own grave," he warned.
Opposing the Yettinahole project, he held two former Chief Ministers from the coast (Veerappa Moily and D.V. Sadananda Gowda) responsible for it.
"The two have left the coastal belt and are contesting elections in places where they have better chances of winning. Let them come to Uppinangady, listen to the problems of the people and assure them that there is enough water in the Netravathi river. History won't forgive them otherwise," he added.
Also lashing out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetization, he wanted to know why the names of those who had money stashed in Swiss banks were not revealed in Parliament when the government had the information.
The Congress government has of late been embarrassed by a series of scandals involving its ministers, which the opposition has made the most of. How the party intends to weather this storm is anybody's guess.
According to sources close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Pwd Minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa's son Sunil Bose is the only candidate for the Nanjangud byelection whom Mr Siddaramaiah and the party have in mind. "Both father and son have already started touring the constituency. Sunil Bose will be the candidate of the ruling party.
Sunil Bose
The CM has told party workers to work for the candidate as if he himself is the candidate. It is also being planned to highlight the works which Mr Srinivasprasad failed to take up in the past eight years in the constituency and ask voters if he would do them in a year. In the 2009 Govindrajnagar byelection in Bengaluru, Priya Krishna, son of Krishnappa won against Mr Somanna. And the same thing can happen here," a close confidant of Mr Siddaramaiah told Deccan Chronicle.
