Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Jun 5: Dakshina Kannada Congress MP candidate Padmaraj congratulated Capt Brijesh Chowta on winning the Lok Sabha elections and said, “This is not an end, but the beginning. I will work to strengthen the party.”
Addressing the media on Wednesday, June 5, he said, “I was chosen as the Lok Sabha candidate from Congress. I thank each and every one for their constant support since the candidate announcement.
“Winning and losing are common in elections. There was discussion that giving a ticket in Dakshina Kannada is a waste and leads to a loss by a high margin. This time around, I am happy that I got 1.14 lac more votes compared to the previous election. Due to time constraints, I could not spend at least 6 hours in the constituency like Mangaluru South and North. If I had enough time to reach out to the people, the result might have been different.
“I thank all the party workers who worked relentlessly day and night. This is not an end but it is the beginning. I will work to strengthen the party from the booth level.
“Even national leaders called me and said that I faced the polls like a lion, and national leaders have kept faith in me. I will work for the party and will not let national leaders down.
“You cannot write off the achievements in Karnataka like guarantees. We need to know the minds of the people in the district. We have faced a good election this time; I have not criticized anyone and spoke about development and kept my vision in front of the people.
“I urge the new MP to focus on development and bring back harmony, and I will always support good works done.
“The BJP started the campaign at the time of Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration, but the people of Ayodhya have rejected BJP, while in Mangaluru, we are still chanting Ayodhya, which indicates we should not politicize,” he said.
Former MLA Ramanath Rai said, “We have faced drawbacks in the coastal belt. In Dakshina Kannada, we performed better among the coastal belt by giving a tough fight. Congress has morally won, while BJP lost morally. They always kept on sloganeering ‘Chaar Sau Paar’, but now they are into saving their power.”
Corporator Shashidhar Hegde, Lancelot Pinto, Congress leaders K Ashraf, Subodh Alva, Sahul Hameed, Shamshudeen, president district NSUI Suhan Alva and others were present.