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While seemingly playing a “Vokkaliga card”, Congress candidate for Mysore-Kodagu constituency M. Lakshman on Friday, March 22, said the party fielded a candidate from the Vokkaliga community in the constituency after a gap of nearly four decades. After Tulsidas Dasappa in 1977, the party fielded him in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said, while attacking the BJP for denying tickets to Vokkaligas including D.V. Sadananda Gowda and also Pratap Simha.
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was labelled Anti-Vokkaliga. Today, I have been given a ticket. With this, the Congress has given a fitting reply to the BJP. The vote share of Vokkaligas is perhaps the second largest in the constituency. I describe myself as a common man with a good education background. I have no political background and I belong to a farmers’ family. I can be a good MP if he gets a chance this time,” he said, during his interaction with the media.
‘Tired of Losing Polls – Support Me’
Mr. Lakshman made an emotional appeal to the voters to bless him since he had lost many elections, including the 2018 MLC polls by a thin margin. “I am tired of losing polls. Please give me a chance this time. I have the qualifications. It’s going to be very tough for me if people do not support me at least this time,” pleaded Mr. Lakshman, with folded hands.
He said the Congress has fielded Vokkaligas in eight constituencies while the BJP has given tickets to the community only in Bengaluru rural (C.N. Manjunath).
Common Man versus Royal
Describing the election as a fight between a common man and a royal, Mr. Lakshman said he has the highest regard for the royal family but personally he was not happy with Mr. Yaduveer for choosing the BJP to enter the politics when that party “is against reservation and social justice”.
“If he (Mr. Yaduveer) had approached the Congress, he could have got the election ticket,” he said sarcastically.
Mr. Lakshman lashed out at the BJP for forcing Mr. Yaduveer to mingle with the commons, especially at the tea stalls and so on.
A Prestige Battle
Terming the poll a prestige battle for Mr. Siddaramaiah in his home district, Mr. Lakshman said the Congress has a good opportunity to win the polls as its vote share in the last Assembly election was 49 percent whereas, the BJP got 29 percent and JD(S) 17 percent vote share. “We are confident but not overconfident. The five guarantees will help us and the people will back us.”
Mysuru Manifesto
Announcing to bring out a separate manifesto for Mysuru with a five-year vision, Mr. Lakshman said he will be available to the people 24x7. People have to decide whom to vote for – whether a common man who is accessible or a person who lives in a palace, he asked.
Downplaying the BJP and JD(S) alliance and the combine’s impact on the polls in Mysore-Kodagu, he said H.D. Kumaraswamy was struggling to get two seats. In this poll, the Congress has the chance of winning 22 seats, including Mysore-Kodagu.
He condemned the seizure of Congress bank accounts and said the BJP was targeting opposition parties and leaders, referring to the arrest of Arvind Kejrival and Shibu Soren, during elections.
On Mekedatu project
To a question on DMK’s opposition to the Mekedatu project in its election manifesto, Mr. Lakshman said the CM and the Dy. CM have already replied on the issue.
