Pics: Spoorthi Ullal

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (VP)

Mangaluru, Mar 25: MLC and district Congress president Harish Kumar, former ministers Ramanath Rai and Abhayachandra Jain, along with MLC Manjunath Bhandary, congratulated Congress' Dakshina Kannada (DK) Lok Sabha candidate Padmaraj R and discussed future plans for the upcoming elections.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, March 26, MLC Harish Kumar stated, "Our candidate Padmaraj has made significant contributions to the people of the district, and he has been selected as our MP candidate. We are fully prepared for the elections; we have brought together all the Congress leaders and raised awareness among the workers by providing proper training. The Congress office has been set up at Lalbagh, inaugurated by Janardhan Poojary, and from there, we commenced our election work. We are visiting each block, and on April 3, we will submit the candidate documents. Before that, we will visit all blocks, and the event will be held at Town Hall. On April 14, we will campaign in Mangaluru South, followed by Ullal on April 15, and Mangaluru North on April 16. Chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar will attend the event at Puttur when the dates are finalized. The second round of the campaign will be completed before April 24. We have arranged coordinators from each district, as well as coordinators for every block. All our leaders are actively involved in the elections, and under Ramanath Rai's guidance, we will work on the elections. After our party meeting, we will commence the election campaign."

MLC Manjunath Bhandary stated, "I have been appointed as KPCC working president for Dakshina Kannada district. I have been a member of the Congress party for the past 30 years and have worked at all levels. Today, Congress has divided Karnataka into 5 parts to better serve the people, and I will be in charge of Dakshina Kannada district. In the past 33 years, we have not seen the Congress party win in Dakshina Kannada during elections, and we needed a new face. Padmaraj has made significant contributions to development, welfare, and temples, and we requested our national leaders to consider him. Our leaders have listened to us and accepted our request. This time, the Congress party is uniting to secure victory, and Janardhan Poojary has inaugurated and blessed the workers. We believe that Congress will win. On April 2, Jayprakash will provide candidate nomination documents from Udupi. Padmaraj should emerge victorious, and although we had considered 3-4 names, the national party leaders have selected Padmaraj, which we are very happy about."

Former Minister Ramanath Rai expressed, “Padmaraj is the right candidate. He served as the treasurer of a temple and has assisted numerous people. We accept all responsibilities entrusted to us, and despite our previous unsuccessful attempts over the years, we have put forth our best efforts. Oscar Fernandes has provided invaluable support in the past, and we are pleased to be collaborating with him. Under Veerappa Moily, I became a leader for the first time and have dedicated myself to serving the district. Some may claim that Mangaluru is a fortress of BJP, but I do not subscribe to this belief; we are making significant strides. Many individuals have benefited from the initiatives of the Congress, and it remains the only party that has truly supported the underprivileged. We are determined to make history once again within the Congress party. Our focus is on empowering the people, and the guarantee scheme has been instrumental in this regard. Today, the opposition cannot discredit our guarantee schemes as false, as we have successfully implemented them for the public's benefit. Furthermore, if we succeed at the central level, we will provide Rs 1 lac to each family, along with 10 additional guarantees.”

Former minister Abhayachandra Jain stated, "Today, we are pleased that a young candidate has been assigned to us, and it is our responsibility to assist him in securing victory. The media should endeavour to present the reality to the audience, and there is currently no candidate more deserving than Padmaraj."

Responding to a query where BJP claims to garner 3,00,000 votes and MLA Vedvyas Kamath predicts a BJP victory with a 45,000-vote lead, Harish Kumar remarked, "We do not boast about ourselves. I believe that Congress will secure a victory with a margin ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 votes."

When asked if the 'I.N.D.I.A' block is collaborating effectively in our district, Ramanath Rai stated, "We are in communication with all parties affiliated with the INDIA block and their workers. All the members of smaller parties are aligned with us. Once the election campaign commences, we will establish connections with them and strategize for the future."

Padmaraj R, Shakuntala Shetty, J R Lobo, Ivan D’Souza, Inayat Ali, Sadashiv Ullal, Shahul Ameen and others were present.