Likening the hold of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his family in the district to the British rule, Hassan MLA Preetham Gowda, on Sunday, appealed to the public to vote for the BJP to free the district from the clutches of the ‘British’ of the present times.
Addressing a campaign meeting at Sakleshpur, Mr. Preetham Gowda said if Prajwal Gowda won, the district would be under the control of the Gowda family for 50 more years. “The present election in Hassan is the fight to save democracy. It is similar to the freedom struggle against the British. The Gowda family is like British of Hassan,” he said.
The MLA said people should support the BJP to see Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for a second term.
BJP supporters Uday Gowda and Narve Somashekhar, who allegedly attempted to lure MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) as part of BJP’s Operation Lotus exercise, participated in the election campaign meeting at Sakleshpur on Sunday. There were reports that Uday Gowda had attempted to lure H.K. Kumaraswamy, Sakleshpur JD(S) MLA. Chief Minister H.D. Kumarswamy had also alleged that they had a role in Operation Lotus.
Belur
BJP candidate A. Manju addressed campaign meetings in Belur and Halebidu on the day. He sought votes in favour of the BJP to put an end to dynastic rule of the Gowda family. “If the JD(S) candidate was defeated, the second line leaders of all parties would get due recognition in the district,” he said.