Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)

Mangaluru, May 10: The last day of the campaigning for Karnataka assembly elections saw candidates make last-ditch efforts to woo the voters of Mangaluru South constituency.

Independent candidate Srikar Prabhu held a huge public meet at Nehru Maidan here. Prabhu entered the stage in an auto rickshaw, which is his election symbol.

In his inaugural speech, Sham Sundhar Bhat, editor of 'Kahale' magazine said, "There is a question everywhere on why Srikar Prabhu is contesting this election. What is the reason behind his candidature? We the supporters of Srikar Prabhu want to say, he is contesting this election to crush the fake Hindu leaders and fake Hindutva. In Mangaluru South, the contest is between justice and injustice. Srikar Prabhu always fights for justice, and in this election he is contesting on the side of justice.

"Being a popular social worker he has already made a good name in the constituency. He is a real Hindu. His dream is to transform Mangaluru into a model city for entire Karnataka. But some people did injustice to him. Nevertheless, the people of Mangaluru are with Srikar Prabhu. We have faith in him that he will prove to be an able and noble person to lead the people," he said.

Srikar Prabhu said, "I am contesting this election with 35 years of experience in service the society. BJP expelled me from the party without giving any reason. BJP has forgotten its real ideology, but I am still following the same ideology and it is a part of me. I earnestly request the people of my constituency to give me an opportunity to serve you. Mangaluru did not seen anything good happen in the last five years. Projects have remained just promises. Thousands of families are living without homes. Without a proper footpath in the city, how can the current MLA claim that he converted Mangaluru into a model city?

"Now the situation has come in BJP where party workers are turning against their own candidate. They are not at all happy with their candidate. He is roaming around the constituency along with anti-socials. Killers are escorting him," he alleged.

"Earlier, the BJP decided to give ticket to Yogish Bhat, but the night before the announcement of the final candidate list, the current BJP candidate along with thirty other supporters went to Yogish Bhat's house and threatened him to withdraw his candidature. They pressured him to send a fax to the party leadership informing that he would not contest the election. This the way the BJP candidate got the ticket," he claimed.

"Our current MP is known for backbiting. After becoming MP he forgot his political teachers and senior leaders. In the name of Modi he sought votes, but later he forgot to follow Modi's example. The people of the district made a big mistake in electing him. In the next election we should send him home. Having no knowlege of either Hindi or English, he cannot even speak to Modi. But luckily our PM knows Kannada.

"When I was in BJP, people used to visit the BJP office for various needs. But after the party expelled me, people stopped going to the BJP office. Now no common man visits BJP office, instead they ask for the location of my office. This is the real situation of BJP in the city now," he said.

Aishwarya Nayak, who is a first-time voter from the constituency said, "I am excited to vote for the first time. Srikar Prabhu is a person who never compromised on his principles. He is an inspiration to the youth. His vision of development is a model for others. So we the youth, especially first-time voters, are with him."

R K Shastri, K P Shetty Belemaru, Srikar Prabhu's mother Chitrakala Prabhu, Ashwith Kumar, Rama Mohan, Shrilatha, Raghunath Maben and others were present.