Senior BJP leader V Somanna, who is set to take on Congress veteran Siddaramaiah in the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, faced embarrassment on the campaign trail today.
Mr Somanna was canvassing in Varuna constituency in Mysuru district when a group of people surrounded him and questioned him over the lack of development in the region. The senior party leader, who served as housing and infrastructure development minister is the outgoing cabinet, was also the minister in-charge of Mysuru district.
Visuals showed villagers surrounding the minister and asking questions about development in the constituency. Several BJP leaders, including Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, were seen trying to intervene. They were also seen asking people not to record the exchange between Mr Somanna and the villagers.
Elected from Govindraj Nagar Assembly constituency in the 2018 election, Mr Somanna has been fielded from two seats this time -- Varuna and Chamarajanagara.
A former Congress leader who switched to the BJP in 2009, Mr Somanna faces the formidable Siddaramaiah in Varuna. The seat, ever since it was formed in 2008, has backed the Congress veteran, sending him and then his son Yathindra Siddaramaiah to the Assembly. The Congress veteran is one of the frontrunners for the Chief Minister post if the party wins the polls and his supporters will leave no stone unturned to ensure his victory in Varuna.
The BJP, however, is confident that Mr Somanna will beat the Congress heavyweight.
Addressing a party meeting in support of the BJP leader, Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai said Mr Somanna is a model for development.
"The name of Varuna will go beyond the Mysuru district and he got the blessings of the Goddess Chamundeshwari. V Somanna means 'Victory' Somanna. A lot of changes have taken place in Karnataka politics. A few enjoyed power in the name of oppressed classes. They grew in politics but the community remained backward," he said.
The BJP also aims to tap into the Lingayat voter base in Varuna by fielding Mr Somanna, who is from the community.
The senior leader recently told the media that the Varuna constituency was not new for him because he had campaigned for Siddaramaiah during the bypolls at Chamundeshwari in Mysuru, back when they were in the same party. "I will do my job," he was quoted as saying in a report by news agency PTI.
The Congress veteran, too, is sure of a win. "I will win with people's support. Let Somanna or anybody contest against me... I am not worried about the opponent as I have full faith in the people of Varuna," Mr Siddaramaiah said.
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