The political temperature in the Chamarajanagar parliamentary constituency is increasing with each passing day with the approach of the last date for filing of nominations on Tuesday.
The battle of the ballot in the reserved constituency has taken an interesting turn with the entry of the former Minister and Dalit leader V. Srinivas Prasad, who has been elected from Chamarajanagar on five occasions. However, the constituency was nurtured by R. Dhruvanarayan of the Congress since 10 years and he is aiming for a hat trick, banking on the development works undertaken by him.
The outcome of the elections in the Chamarajanagar constituency was perceived to go in favour of Mr. Dhruvanarayan till recently. But the late entry of Mr. Srinivas Prasad, who was prevailed upon by the BJP top brass to return to electoral politics after his drubbing in the Nanjangud bypolls in 2017, has upset the Congress calculations and the campaigning is assuming shrill tones.
Mr. Srinivas Prasad during his poll preparations and interactions with the rank and file of the BJP in H.D. Kote and other places last week, had flayed Mr. Dhruvanarayan as a “betrayer”.
Urging party workers to work hard for the defeat of the Congress, Mr. Srinivas Prasad had “chided” Mr. Dhruvanarayan for “backstabbing” people who helped him.
In response, the latter said that he would prefer to discuss development works instead of getting embroiled in personal vilification. Mr. Dhruvanarayan turned the tables on Mr. Srinivas Prasad by reminding him that he (Mr. Dhruvanarayan) was extolled for good work as a parliamentarian when Mr. Srinivas Prasad was in the Congress. “But I am now being described as a ‘betrayer’ after Mr. Srinivas Prasad joined the BJP,” remarked Mr. Dhruvanarayan who called for displaying mutual respect during the campaigning. Mr. Srinivas Prasad on his part is invoking the national programmes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to point out that the programmes being implemented in Chamarajanagar and the development projects were BJP’s contribution.