BENGALURU: The campaigning for the elections to two assembly and four legislative council seats gained momentum on Saturday as senior members of major parties toured constituencies to woo voters.
Chief minister BS Yediyurappa sought to build support for Chidanand Gowda, the BJP candidate for South-East Graduates, one of the four council constituencies that will see biennial elections on October 28. Yediyurappa addressed a meeting of around 500 people in Tumakuru, which is a part of the constituency.
On October 30, he is expected to campaign in the Sira assembly segment. Bypolls will be conducted in Sira and RR Nagar on November 3. Yediyurappa’s son and state BJP vice-president, BY Vijayendra, is a member of the core electioneering team for Sira, and has been camping there to help the party win this seat for the first time.
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy visited Togaragunte, Madaluru and other villages in Sira, campaigning for JD(S) candidate Ammajamma, the wife of B Satyanarayan, who was the sitting legislator before he passed away in August. Kumaraswamy urged voters to back JD(S), alleging that Congress and BJP wanted to finish it off.
Siddaramaiah also held road shows in Sira, where Congress has fielded former minister TB Jayachandra. He claimed the BJP government had failed on all fronts and voters should teach it a lesson. He listed development works initiated by Jayachandra in the constituency.
State Congress president DK Shivakumar canvassed for H Kusuma, the party candidate in RR Nagar. He accused BJP candidate Munirathna of betraying Congress for Rs 50 crore and urged residents to teach him a lesson.
Munirathna won the 2018 assembly election in RR Nagar on a Congress ticket. He later changed camps. Shivakumar and his brother, DK Suresh, who is the Bengaluru Rural MP, have been actively campaigning in the constituency to consolidate Vokkaliga votes.
Social welfare minister B Sriramulu also held a road show in the segment.