The BJP State president, B.S. Yeddyurappa, has alleged that the administrative machinery in the State has come to a standstill as Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his Cabinet colleagues were busy in campaigning for the by-election.
He was speaking at an election campaign rally in Ayanur village near here on Saturday.
Accusing the Janata Dal(Secular)-Congress coalition government of pushing the State to serious financial crisis, he said that the fund allocation for many welfare schemes launched during his tenure as Chief Minister including Bhagyalakshmi scheme has been reduced by the present government. He alleged that JD(S) and Congress leaders were trying to win the by-election for three Lok Sabha seats and two Assembly seats by appealing on caste basis and by luring the voters with cash and liquor.
“The voters should teach a fitting lesson to both by defeating their candidates,” he added.
Kumar Bangarappa, Sorab MLA, alleged that his younger brother, Madhu Bangarappa, who is contesting the by-election for Shivamogga parliamentary seat as a JD(S) candidate, was misusing the name of his father, late S. Bangarappa, in the campaigning. “Throughout his political career, my father had strived for the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden. It is unfortunate that Madhu Bangarappa is now using his name for electoral gains,” he said.
K.B. Ashok, Shivamogga Rural MLA; Ayanur Manjunath and S. Rudre Gowda, MLCs; and B.Y. Raghavendra, BJP candidate for the by-election, were present.