Tuesday, April 16, 2013

DECCAN HERALD 5

Assembly Elections 2013

Poll bytes Cong names Ibrahim, Kodandaramaiah to quit Cong Former Lok Sabha mem- given the ticket to Sudhakar Muniratna Former minister Krishnappa says party gave tickets to moneybags who was being investigated by ber P Kodandaramaiah the CBI in a corruption case. on Monday announced that in third list Kodandaramaiah was an aspibecome the JD(S) candidate categories. I asked Oscar Fer- he would soon quit the Con-

Ambi imbroglio gets knottier

probably from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district, minced no words when he charged that Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara, D K Shivakumar and Jaffer Sharief had taken incentives to get tickets for their followers. In K R Puram, Byrathi Basavaraj, a relative of Congress MLC Byrathi Suresh, is the candidate. It is said Siddaramaiah was instrumental in getting Basavaraj the ticket. Krishnappa, who has been with the Congress for the last four decades, has successfully contested four times in the Assembly elections. He was a minister twice. He had lost the last Assembly elections to Nandish Reddy of the BJP. Krishnappa, speaking to Deccan Hearld, said: The Congress has given tickets to those who are into real estate business, those who are facing criminal cases, those who have grabbed land illegally and those who are facing Lokayukta inquiries. I do not come under any of those

NEW DELHI: Yielding to

pressures, the Congress on Monday night announced the names of former Union Minister C M Ibrahim for Bhadravati and controversial corporator Muniratna Naidu for Rajarajeswarinagar seats besides replacing Srirangaptana candidate following rebellion by film star and former union minister Ambareesh. Ibrahim, who was nominated to the Election Strategy Committee, is being fielded from Bhadravati in place of sitting MLA Sangameshwar following intense lobbying by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah. Muniratna Naidu has been given the ticket from the Rajarajeswarinagar Assembly segment in the City. There was opposition in the party to nominate him in the wake of allegations against him and even KPCC President G Parameshwara had reportedly lobbied for his friend P N Krishnamurthy for the seat. In a bid to strike a balance, the Congress changed Srirangapatna candidate Ravindra and fielded S N Lingaraju in his place. However, the High Command did not yield to the demand of rebel star to change his constituency from Mandya to Srirangapatna. Ambareesh had threatened not to contest the election, if the Srirangapatna candidate was not changed. He had also sought Srirangapatna seat. Another nomination which raised eyebrows was fielding of former Union Minister C K Jaffer Shariefs grandson Rehman Sharief as former minister H M Revanna had been eyeing on the seat. In Chikkaballapur, Dr K Sudhakar has been given the ticket. Anil Mohan P will be the candidate from Belgaum South, while Chennakeshava will battle it out from Malur. In Puttur, Shakuntala Shetty, who joined the party recently, has been given the ticket. Davangere and Kaup continued to remain contentious seats. The third list
BhadravathiC M Ibrahim Belgaum SouthAnil Mohan Potdar ChikkaballapurDr K Sudhakar Malur- Chennakeshava RajarajeshwarinagarMuniratna Naidu Hebbal-Rahman Sharief Puttur- Shankuntala Shetty SrirangapatnaS N Lingaraju Davanagere-North and Kaup not announced

BANGALORE: The release of the second list of candidates has triggered another round of rebellion in the Congress. Rebel star Ambareesh, who had opposed giving the party ticket to A S Ravindra Srikantaiah in Srirangapatna, toughened his stand on Monday and refused to budge, despite efforts by party leaders to pacify him.

The actor-politician has threatened not to file the nomination papers from Mandya if his demand is overlooked. L D Ravi, the Congress candidate for the Melkote constituency and a staunch follower of Ambareesh, too has announced that he will not contest the elections, if his leader is neglected. Ambareesh has been alleging that Ravindra had indulged in anti-party activities. Ravindra had allegedly played a key role in defeating him in the 2008 polls in Srirangapatna. Hence, the actor has been vehemently opposing his candidature. However, the party

Ambareesh

A Krishnappa

gave him the ticket as he had the strong backing of senior leader S M Krishna. According to sources, the AICC observers held talks with Ambareesh at a hotel and tried to persuade him to give up his protest. Besides, both KPCC chief G Parameshwara and CLP leader Siddaramaiah spoke to the actor over phone in their effort to resolve the issue. But he remained adamant. It is said that the party has decided not to issue B form to Ravindra till the issue is re-

solved. Sources close to the leader said he had indicated that he would relent and file his nomination papers on Wednesday. Corruption alleged Another senior Congress leader A Krishnappa, who was not fielded him from his home constituency K R Puram in Bangalore, hit out at the party, saying moneybags had influenced the party bosses in selecting candidates. Krishnappa, who is all set to

nandes as to why I was denied ticket, despite not facing any charges. He had no answer, he said. The former minister said he was not ready to pay incentives to seniors in the party to get the ticket for himself. I cant present foreign cars, watches and bags of cash. In regular Congress party meetings, I used to raise pertinent questions, which was not appreciated by the seniors. So, they have punished me. I do not want to be a bonded labourer. If tickets are sold, I am not in the race to buy it, because I have not amassed illegal wealth, he said. Krishnappa said he would hold talks with H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy late on Monday evening and decide his political future. Similarly, H M Revanna is unhappy with the party for not giving him the ticket from Hebbal. The Congress is yet to announce the candidates for nine constituencies which are contentious.
DH News Service

gress to protest against the partys decision to field former minister and Independent MLA D Sudhakar from the Hiriyur constituency, reports DHNS from Hiriyur, Chitradurga district. Kodandaramaiah, a former Bangalore Police Commissioner, said that despite opposition from local leaders, the Congress high command had

rant for the Congress ticket from Hiriyur. Kodandaramaiah said that although his followers were forcing him to contest as an Independent, he was against it. He would convene a meeting of like-minded people on April 21 to plan strategies to defeat Sudhakar, he added. Former minister B Ekanthaiah was present.

Reject Congress, BJP: Left parties

Appealing to the people to elect only those candidates who will uphold the dignity of the State Assembly, the Left parties on Monday urged voters to reject both the Congress and the BJP in the forthcoming elections. At a joint press conference here, VJK Nair, State secretariat member of the CPM, G R Shivashankar, State president of the Forward Bloc and P V Lokesh, State secretary of the CPI, reminded the people about the party-hopping and various other dramatic episodes orchestrated by the parties, which had left a deep scar on the State Assembly.

Said Shivashankar, This is because the candidates who contest elections consider it as just an investment, leaving no stone unturned to get back their profit. They go to any extent to make money. They have no motive to serve the people. The Left leaders said to keep the main parties away from power, they had allied with all smaller parties and hoped that they would be successful in their effort. To keep these parties out of power, we will ally with any party. We are not hoping overnight success, but at least we can make an effort to build the alternative slowly, he said.

Revanna blames Siddu

H M Revanna, who is cut up with the Congress for not fielding him as its candidate from Hebbal, on Monday expressed his ire against senior party leader Siddaramaiah for not helping him get the ticket. He said Siddaramaiah had ditched him. But he said he still had faith in the party and that it would consider his request. Both the leaders belong to the Kuruba community. Revannas supporters staged a protest in front of the Congress Bhavan in Bangalore for not giving the ticket to him. They presented a memorandum to party office-bearer
EX-CMS IN BATTLEFIELD: KJP president B S Yeddyurappa goes in a rally to le his nomination papers from Shikaripur Assembly constituency on Monday. JD(S) State president H D Kumaraswamy (right) addresses the party workers after ling papers from Ramanagar constituency. DH PHOTOS

Venkataram Ghorpade. No other senior leader was present as all were busy filing nominations. Revanna, who tasted defeat in his home constituency Magadi, had unsuccessfully tried to get elected from Hebbal. This time, he was hoping to contest from there again. But the party is inclined to field the grandson of Jaffer Sharief.

Bellary tainted mine owners in poll fray again

BANGALORE: Iron ore-rich Bellary district appears to be again falling into the clutches of the influential mining lobby.

Despite the hue and cry raised by various quarters against the mining industry for causing widespread damage to the districts ecology and environment, political parties have fielded mine owners from various constituencies for the May 5 Assembly elections. The Congress has fielded the highest number of three mine owners: Anil Lad from Bellary City, Santosh Lad from Kalghatgi in Dharwad district and Abdul Wahab from Vijayanagar in Bellary district. The Congress high command gave the ticket to Anil Lad, who is a Rajya Sabha member, despite stiff opposition from local leaders. The BJP has fielded Toursim Minister Anand Singh (Vijayana-

gar), who is also a mine owner. Similarly, B Sreeramulu (Bellary Rural) and his nephew T H Suresh Babu (Kampli), both close associates of former minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy, have jumped into the fray. Incidentally, most of them are facing allegations of illegal mining. VSL Mining Company owned by Anil Lad and S B Minerals belonging to Anand Singh were allegedly into illegal mining. Sreeramulu was a business partner of Reddy, who is currently in jail in connection with cases relating to illegal mining. The Congress initial choice for Bellary City was Anjanappa, one of the popular local leaders. Former MP K C Kondaiah, former KPCC president Allum Veerabhadrappa and former minister M Diwakar Babu were among the nearly 10 prominent leaders who were aspi-

Anil Lad

Anand Singh

rants for the Congress ticket from Bellary City constituency. But, Anil Lad was too adamant that he should be given the ticket. He even threatened to rebel against the party and to field his own candidates from all the seats in Bellary district, if he was denied the ticket. Though the party chose to snub protests and rebellion in

other parts of the State, it meekly relented and gave the ticket to Anil Lad. The high commands decision has upset almost all the local Congress leaders in Bellary. They believe that the party yielding to strong-arm tactics of the mine owner will send a wrong message to the partys rank and file, which had strived to free the district from the DH News Service

grip of cash-rich mining lobby during the last few years. Ironically, the Congress had taken out a padayatra against illegal mining in 2010 and alleging that the ruling BJP, especially the Reddy brother had been looting iron ore in the district. Aggrieved Congress leaders, who refused to be quoted, said the mine owners are likely to fund the poll expenses of all the Congress candidates in Bellary. If this happens, mine owners will again become prominent after the elections. Having been on the defensive on the illegal mining issue, the BJP had been trying to get rid of the mining taint by distancing itself from the mine owners. But, in the absence of an able leader in Vijayanagar constituency, the BJP re-nominated the sitting MLA Anand Singh.

Former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar, the Congress candidate from the Srinivaspura constituency in Kolar district, has liabilities of Rs 3.47 crore by way of loans taken from financial institutions and individuals. Reacting to a report published in these columns on Monday on the assets/liabilities he has declared in the affidavit filed before the returning officer, Kumar said that while he has assets worth about Rs 11 crore, he has liabilities of Rs 3.47 crore. I do not

Ramesh Kumars liabilities

even own a house in Bangalore. Way back in 1978, when the BDA offered me a housing site, I had rejected it. Later, I got a site in Domlur where I built a commercial complex. I borrowed loan from the UCO bank to purchase the site by paying Rs 3.39 lakh. The land prices of have gone up and naturally the property value too has increased. But, I have not amassed wealth to be billed as the richest among the Congress leaders contesting elections, he said.

Rakshita carries haystack

Actor Rakshita, after bidding goodbye to the BSR Congress, met JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda at his Padmanabha Nagar residence on Monday and fell at his feet, reports DHNS from Bangalore. Her husband and film director-producer Prem accompanied her. After a brief interaction, Gowda told reporters that Rakshita had joined the party. Rakshita said she had not put any conditions to join the

Krishnaiah Setty quits BJP

Krishnaiah Setty, former minister who failed to get the BJP ticket to contest from Malur, resigned as MLA and also from the primary membership of the party on Monday, reports DHNS from Bangalore. He will contest as an Independent candidate. The BJP denied him the ticket because he faces many cases in the Lokayukta court and was jailed. He was with the BJP for a decade. He was earlier twice elected as Independent candidate and twice on the BJP ticket.

Cartoons to woo voters

Lines that may draw long lines to poll booths

BANGALORE: Setting their satirical negatives aside, 20 cartoonists lined up for a different cause on Monday, a very positive, electoral one: To inspire everyone to head straight to that polling booth on May 5. Indulging their wit-laced pens and brushes, they carved out cartoons of mirth but loaded with messages. Their lines had a purpose, a deeply social tone. Linking votes to development, they let their creative instincts take control as the Bangalore Press Club turned one big canvas. In two hours, 54 cartoons were up and ready. Some were outright funny, some deeply political, but most artworks had the message loud and clear: Crowd those booths on Election Day. For the State Information Department and the Election Commission, the cartoons will now be the tools of a unique, district-wise voter awareness campaign, part of the Systematic Voters Education and

JD(S). She did not disclose whether she had sought the ticket to contest the polls. She said she had no problems with B Sreeramulu as such. But the BSR Congress workers in Chamarajanagar, where she had intended to contest, did not co-operate. She said she would remain with the JD(S) and serve the society. Film actress Pooja Gandhi had quit the JD(S) to join the BSR Congress. She is the partys candidate from Raichur.

SUCI fields three in Blore

Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) has fielded candidates in three constituencies of Bangalore, reports DHNS. B S Pratibha Kumari, a post-graduate in literature from Mysore University and State president of the All In-

Advani, Sushma, Modi to campaign

Senior BJP leader L K Advani, party national president Rajnath Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj will campaign for the party in the State, reports DHNS from Dharwad. We will begin our campaign on April 21, BJP State president Pralhad Joshi said.

Electoral Participation (SVEEP) project, as Information Director N R Vishukumar explained. Organised by the Karnataka Media Academy, the workshop had Chief Secretary S V Ranganath draw the first line. He appeared solidly behind this creative voter awareness campaign. A few days back, the Chief Election Commissioner had said whatever we do to ensure smooth conduct of elections will be futile if the people dont come out to vote in big numbers. He had urged us to enlist the support of different media and the cartoonists, he said. Thus, Ranganath thrust the spotlight bang on the voters. In the North-east, the voting percentage had touched a whopping 91 per cent. That, as Ranganath put it, should be the inspiration. Here in Karnataka, at least 80 per cent of the voters should exercise their franchise, he said. Cartoons, quipped veteran artist of the witty kind B V Pan-

Cartoonist Gujjarappa draws a cartoon as Chief Secretary S V Ranganath looks on, at an voters awareness campaign in Bangalore on Monday. DH photo

duranga Rao, should do the trick. Such cartoons could be turned into posters to inspire,

particularly the young voters. These works will be much more effective than long arti-

cles. Today, so many people choose not to vote at all. That should change. Drawing the image of an old woman raring to vote, he visually delivered a strong, dramatic message to the young voters. This is for the first time the Media Academy and the Information Department have organised such an initiative. We feel cartoons will really promote voting, through their simplistic manner, said MA Ponnappa, the Academy chairperson. Of course, there was nothing complicated in the way many cartoonists had picturised voters declining those bottles of liquor, offered as enticement by the candidates. For, their route to the polling booth had to be free, uncluttered by the cacophony of gifts. If the Election Commission could ensure that with its tight fist, the cartoonists knew how to make that clear through their pens, gripped by hands that danced to a creative tune all their own!
DH News Service

dia Mahila Samskritika Sanghatane, will contest from Rajajinagar. M S Prakash, vicepresident, AIUTUC, has been fielded from Malleswaram, while N Ravi, a mechanical engineer, has entered the fray from Basavanagudi constituency.

Food packets distributed

Food packets containing rice bath and chutney were distributed to hundreds of supporters who accompanied an aspirant for Congress ticket from Rajarajeshwarinagar, Hanumantharayappa, when he filed the nomination papers on Monday. This is a

clear violation of the Election Commission norms. The food packets were given away near his house in Mallathalli, after he filed his papers at the BBMP zonal office at Rajarajeshwarinagar. Students of the nearby colleges were the most benefited from the largesse.

Friends turn foes

KJP candidate from Rajajinagar Shobha Karandlaje said the battle in her constituency is between friends who have turned foes. She is contesting against minister

Suresh Kumar (BJP). After filing her nomination papers, she told reporters that it will be a four-way fight among the KJP, BJP, Congress Manjula Naidu and JD(S) S T Anand.