From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Mar 23: Supporters of former minister and BJP MLA from Bidar, Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, who had resorted to angry protests in front of the BJP Bidar district unit office on Saturday, shifted their protest before the State party office on Sunday by tonsuring their heads at denial of the party ticket to Suryakanth Nagamarapalli, son of the MLA.
Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, a staunch loyalist of former chief minister and KJP leader B S Yeddyurappa, who had recently merged his party with BJP and bagged the Shimoga Lok Sabha ticket, had been demanding the BJP party ticket for Bidar Lok Sabha constituency to his son.
Claiming that another former BJP chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who had now become the Opposition leader in the State Legislative Assembly after KJP’s merger with BJP replacing JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy in the post, would not have got the post with cabinet minister’s status and perks if he (Gurupadappa Nagaramarapalli) had not joined BJP along with Yeddyurappa.
The supporters of father-son Nagamarapalli’s have been vehemently opposing the candidature of Bhagavanth Khuba, who has been given the BJP ticket, and shouted slogans against the State BJP leaders for meeting out injustice to their leader.
A few BJP supporters demanded the party high command to issue ticket of Suryakanth to strengthen the hands of party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Khuba is yet to file his nomination papers, and the supporters of Nagamarapalli argued that the BJP Central leaders can change the ticket if they wanted to win the Bidar seat.
Two workers of the BJP doused themselves with kerosene while moving in a procession along with a large number of people to register their protest with the district head of the BJP in Bidar on Saturday as part of the angry campaign. They had also vandalized the party office.
"Match-fixing between Dharam Singh and State BJP"
Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli has openly alleged `match fixing’ between a few BJP leaders and former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Bidar constituency N Dharam Singh.
"Almost all BJP leaders, including Jagadish Shettar, are responsible for the denial of a ticket to my son. I am trying to get a ticket to my son using my connections," he alleged.
Blaming former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa for letting him down, Nagamarapalli said he has only one agenda and that is to get tickets for his associates such as Shobha Karandlaje (Udupi-Chikmagalur), Shivakumar Udasi (Haveri) and G S Basavaraj (Tumkur).
Shivakumar Udasi is the son of the former Public Works Minister C M Udasi, who lost in the assembly elections, and former Congress MP G S Basavaraj had joined BJP during the last Lok Sabha elections and toyed with the idea of rejoining Congress after it became evident that he might be denied renomination.
As Khuba, who has been given the BJP ticket, is yet to file nomination papers, Suryakanth Nagamarapalli expressed confidence that he will get the ‘B’ form before the deadline for filing of nominations draws to a close on March 26.
But sources said that the party high command is unlikely to change the nominee after the announcement of the State’s list.
DVS Claims he got Ticket as Disciplined Solider
Meanwhile, another former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who had been given the BJP ticket to contest from Bangalore North constituency, said the party high command fielded him for as he is a disciplined soldier of the party.
Speaking at a function organised by Friends of BJP here, Gowda said he would address the problems faced by residents of the constituency if he get elected to the parliament.
If the party come to power at the Centre, it would give importance to issues such as linking of rivers, solving border disputes with neighbouring countries, harnessing solar energy and agriculture. Earlier in the morning he visited parks in the constituency and sought the blessings of voters.
He would spend eight days in the constituency every month if he got elected to the Lok Sabha.
Gowda, who served as the State party’s president, expressed confidence of winning the April 17 elections. The Congress has fielded C Narayanaswamy from the constituency.
S N Krishnaiah Setty to Join Congress
Incidentally, another former supporter of Yeddyurappa and ex-minister S N Krishnaiah Setty, who was not admitted to BJP along with the former chief minister, has finally managed to get into the Congress party with the party’s Central leaders allowing his admission.
AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, who is in charge of the State party affairs, has in a communication to KPCC President Dr G Parameshwara, has permitted Krishnaiah Setty’s admission into the party.
The former BJP/KJP leader and Yeddyurappa loyalist, S N Krishnaiah Setty, had won in the past from Malur assembly constituency in Kolar district.