Will announce Mandya candidate on March 25, declares Kumaraswamy

MANDYA: Former CM and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday declared that he would announce the party’s candidate for the Mandya Lok Sabha seat on March 25 after an surgery he has to undergo on March 21. He also said he will discuss the issue with his son party youth wing leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy, and convince him, hinting that the latter may be the choice of candidate.

Addressing a party workers’ convention here today, he said Mandya had given more political strength to H D Deve Gowda than Hassan and claimed that the family had always stood by those who were growing in politics. “I salute you for insisting that either me or Nikhil should contest. We will not let you down”, he said.

Heaping praise on the party workers and voters of Mandya, he said that he may have committed some political mistakes for which he was ready to make amends. “I appeal to you to give us a chance to make amends”, he said.

Recalling his association with late actor-politician Ambareesh, Kumaraswamy said his wife Sumalatha is like his sister. “Something had happened politically then, now there will be no conflict”, he noted. “We will not let you down, we will not hurt your feelings, we will go as per your wishes”, he told the gathering.

He also hit out at Congress minister N Cheluvarayaswamy who had criticised the JD(S) aligning with the BJP, saying that it was he who had got the latter a ministerial position when Vijayalakshmi Bandisiddegowda’s name had been initially proposed during the previous coalition government.

In his address, Nikhil recalled that his father had single-handedly worked to build the party despite undergoing heart surgeries twice during the last Assembly election. “After the surgery on March 21, he may not be able to move around much. I will work for ensuring the party’s candidates’ victory wherever I am asked to. Your desire is that Kumaraswamy should contest and you have also invited me to avenge last election’s defeat. If I am picked as the candidate, I will remain here and campaign here”, he said amid shouts that he should be named as the party candidate.

Earlier in the day, it was widely speculated that party leader C S Puttaraju would be announced as the JD(S) candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Mandya.