Mounesh Vishwakarma

Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (EP)

Bantwal, May 19: “I am in active politics and will be eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. I will make the party grow,” said former minister Ramanath Rai.

Speaking in a news conference held at Panemangalore, B C Road block Congress office on Friday, he said he will follow the directions received from party leaders. “We were not able to win the expected number of seats in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. I congratulate the candidates who have won under difficult circumstances,” he said.

“Some have said that I have become old. I will prove that my age is still right for politics. I will open up my feelings in the meeting of Congress workers  while reviewing my defeat. Now that we have a Congress government, I will try to complete the projects that have been stopped half way. I have not said in Mangaluru that I will retire from politics. I am not a trader. I have not taken up a house in Mangaluru. I will do what the high command directs me to do and shoulder the responsibilities given by the party,” he said.

“I congratulate on behalf of Bantwal block, Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar who have got elected as the chief minister and DyCM,” he said.

“The illegal sand mining mafia has distributed money and contributed to my defeat. They were afraid that I would ban illegal sand mining, if I had won,” he said.

Bantwal block Congress president Baby Kunder, Panemangalore block Congress president Sudeep Kumar Shetty, former zilla panchayat member Chandraprakash Shetty Thumbe, M S Mohammed, Padmashekar Jain, Pius L Rodrigues, B M Abbas Ali, Sudarshan Jain Panjikallu, Mayilappa Salian, Ibrahim Nawaz Badakabailu, Suressh Jora, Sadashiva Bangera, Subhaschandra Shetty Kolnadu, B Mohan and Jagadish Koila were present.